Stengthening farms in El Salvador

One of Maurcio Funes' campaign promises was to strengthen the country's agricultural sector and its ability to produce its own food needs. The website Inside Costa Rica describes how the new government is working on implementing this measure:
San Salvador - The Salvadorian government started a program on Thursday to revitalize the former strength of agriculture, increase production and legalize land possession.

"We want to turn the countryside into the driving force of the country's productive development," President Mauricio Funes said in the ceremony to launch the plan, and recalled that the sector had been forgotten for years.

By vitue of the new policy, the authorities will speed up handing over title deeds of lands to farmers, until reaching 3,000 in the first 100 days of the new government.

The Executive has granted 934 title deeds since it assumed power on June 1, to families that had been for over 20 years awaiting legalization. Simultaneously to that measure, production of essential grains will be increased, by means of handing over fertilizers and packages of improved corn, bean, rice and sorghum seeds.

This measure will benefit 600,000 farmers and will allow increasing national production in 10 percent in the 2009-2010 period.

Comments

Griselda said…
I'm glad with the idea of strengthening el salvador's agriculture. I've surfed GOES' website:
http://www.mag.gob.sv/main/index.php?ids=513
And there are a bunch of implemented projects, news, about MAG -Ministry of Agriculture-. etc.
Eventhough media was talking about some unlawful activities, claiming that there was a seed sales, charging ppl. for the raw materials, GOES immediately replied if that was the case they will investigate. No one's been found yet.
Unknown said…
This sounds like a very good project--much needed in El Salvador. But I find myself wondering about those "packages of improved corn, bean, rice and sorghum seeds." What exactly is the source for these seeds? Monsanto or some other mega-seed company who will hold a patent on the seed and lock Salvadoran farmers into a kind of debt servitude?
Griselda said…
Just reading today, GOES's made an annoucement, an agrigultural watchdog.
MAG has extimated a lost of 1.2 Mlls in the past project.
Manuel Sevilla, told on Monday 17-09, making up a watchdog who will hand out properly the agricultural supplies.
"For the first time, we are going to end the -piñata- (container hung up during festivities and hit with a stick to release candy inside), this is how in the past has been doing it"
What do I mean with this, we have designed in a systematic, and technical an acceptance criteria to decide to whom we will give or we will not give the agricultural materials"...
...more

http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6374&idArt=3924548