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Published
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
$1.3
million-plus invested in the firstcoffee laboratory in the country By the A.M. Costa Rica staff With an investment of $1,362,148, the first coffee laboratory in the country was built in the community of El Rodeo in San Marcos de Tarrazu in Cartago Province. The cost of the laboratory was financed with funds from the Institute of Rural Development and the Distance State University (UNED). According to the institute, research and training on coffee cultivation will be carried out in the laboratory. Professionals from different areas will be able to do research on the use of natural resources such as soil and water. As well as environmental sanitation, biotechnology-plant protection and agroindustry. This will allow conducting research on the management of pests and diseases in coffee cultivation. They will also be investigated with chemical and biological analyses of the water sources used in the production of coffee. The laboratory will benefit 7,500 people who are dedicated to the production of coffee in the rural areas of Dota, Tarrazú and León Cortés. According to representatives of the university, the next step is to start with the equipment purchasing process. According to the Institute of Coffee, coffee production increased by 12% between 2019 and 2020. According to data provided by the institute, the international export sales price of coffee produced in Costa Rica increased by 7%, going from $190.34 for a 46-kilogram bag to $203.14 during the same period. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the increase in the price of coffee produced in Costa Rica is because new varieties of the seed were adapted to climate change and to be more resistant to diseases. In recent months, the institute and the ministry have worked together to carry out an intervention plan on coffee production, allowing coffee farmers to apply new technology in their plantations to improving the coffee seed quality. The 200th anniversary of Costa Rica's first coffee export is celebrated this year. The first coffee seeds came from the Antilles, an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea in 1776. On October 12, 1820, a ship called Nuestra Señora set sail from the Port of Puntarenas to El Perico port in Panama transporting the first exported cargo of Costa Rican coffee. There are currently more than 38,804 coffee farming families mainly located in the province of Cartago. In Costa Rica there are 93,697 hectares, which represents 1.8% of the national territory, used for growing coffee, according to the institute. ---------------------------- What other types of agricultural products should the institute invest? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com More stories
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