Production Minister Visits Talamanca Farmers

Production Minister Alfredo Volio visited farmers in the southern Caribbean canton of Talamanca earlier this month to offer advice on increasing production, exporting goods and bringing home a heftier profit, according to a statement from the Production Ministry (MIPRO).

Volio, who was accompanied by National Liberation Party (PLN) legislator Yalile Essna Williams and Production Vice-Minister Carlos Villalobos, discussed ways farmers in Talamanca can certify their crops like banana and plantains as organically grown.

The ministry is building a new regional office in the area, and officials there will have a new all-terrain vehicle to traverse the dense jungle terrain characteristic of Talamanca, the statement said.

Volio said he hopes to see more production in the region, which exports about 160 tons of cacao per year and 100 tons of banana every 15 days.

“When we talk about intelligence in markets we have to be aware of countries that compete with us and trends on the international market,” Volio said.

The minister also visited the Association of Small Producers of Talamanca (APPTA), whose members include more than 1,000 farmers from Talamanca and other Caribbean cantons, most of whom are of indigenous and Afro-Costa Rican descent.