The Agriculture and Livestock Ministry awarded ¢111 million (about $202,000) to 100 small coffee and dairy farmers in the mountainous Monteverde region, northwest of San José.
The farmers were awarded the money for “the environmental benefits (they) provide their communities by way of sustainable productive practices,” the ministry said in a statement.
Noé Vargas, the project coordinator for the Santa Elena Coffee Producers Cooperative, received ¢25 million (about $45,500) on behalf of the 50 coffee farmers he represents. The money, he said, would be put toward more efficient water use, reforestation, land conservation, new equipment and improving the coffee.
“We must use environmentally friendly alternatives to confront the high cost of materials,” Vargas said, according to the ministry statement.
Federico Muñoz, president of the Monteverde Milk Producers Association, accepted a prize of ¢86 million (about
$156,000) on behalf of his organization. Muñoz said the money would go toward making milk production by 58 dairy farmers, all small or medium-sized producers, more environmentally friendly.
