IDIAP and MIDA Panama have trained 638 people as part of a strategy to combat the threat of Foc TR4 in neighboring countries.
Since 2022, as part of the FONTAGRO project ATN/RF-18761-RG, the Institute of Agricultural Innovation of Panama (IDIAP), with support from the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) and the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA), has provided in-person training to 554 people. Including virtual sessions, the total number of trained participants has reached 638 across the country.
These training sessions aim to raise awareness about the threat posed by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) in neighboring countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. For Panama, the risk is heightened by the continuous flow of South American migrants through border areas.
Participants have learned about banana and plantain production techniques, as well as strategies for disease prevention and management, including its economic and social impact. The initiative has reached a diverse range of stakeholders in Panama’s banana and plantain production chain, including students and faculty from the University of Iowa and the University of Panama, agricultural schools, municipal representatives, customs officials, border police, and, of course, technical advisors and producers from the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Darién, and Chiriquí.
As the project enters its final year, efforts will continue across different segments of the production chain to maximize the impact of scientific findings and strengthen the country’s response to this critical agricultural challenge.
Learn more about this project at: https://www.fontagro.org/new/proyectos/fusariummusaceas/en
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About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO was created 1998 with the purpose of promoting the increase of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the reduction of poverty in the region. The objective of FONTAGRO is to establish itself as a sustainable financing mechanism for the development of agricultural technology and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean and Spain, and to establish a forum for the discussion of priority topics of technological innovation. The member countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In the last 27 years 204 regional agricultural innovation platforms have been co-financed for an amount of US $ 150.7 million, which has reached 531 institutions and 35 countries worldwide.