FAO donates $1.6 million for Costa Rica ag programs

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday confirmed they will issue a $1.6 million donation to Costa Rica over the next two years.

FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva made the announcement in Rome, following a meeting with President Laura Chinchilla and ministers Gloria Abraham (Agriculture) and Enrique Castillo (Foreign).

Abraham said the amount will be used to implement programs for small farmers.  “We are very grateful to FAO for this cooperation. We will make the most of this money by implementing projects in areas such as climate-change mitigation in agriculture, innovation and technology development, and in developing marketing tools for small producers,” she said.

During the meeting, Chinchilla extended an invitation to Graziano to host “World Food Day” celebrations in Costa Rica next October.

Chinchilla is traveling in Europe through Thursday to promote cooperation and to attract investment.