Panama hosts two scientific events on rice production

Panama will be the host XIV International Conference on Rice for Latin America and the Caribbean and the 9th International Conference on Rice and Wheat Pirricularia, two scientific and technological events aimed at strengthening rice production in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The events, which will take place between March 10 and 14, are an opportunity for Panama, as well as producers, technicians and researchers throughout the region to update knowledge on rice research and how to combat crop damage. mushroom, he declared Eduardo Graterol, CEO Agronomy Program of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR).

Piricularia is one of the most important diseases in rice cultivation due to the aggressiveness with which it attacks the plant and its evolutionary capabilities. The fungus Pyricularia oryzae affects the leaf and stem of rice, and is especially harmful to the crop when the ear emerges because it dries it, according to FLAR.

In a meeting with the MIDA authorities, Graterol emphasized the importance of these conferences to improve the production and harvest yield of this cereal. In addition, he explained that through these two international events and their alliances can contribute to the transformation of the Panamanian rice sector towards a more efficient and sustainable sector.

Works of Agronomy Program of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR) with Panamanian producers has shown, in commercial fields, an average yield increase of between 20% and 30% with a cost reduction of between 10% and 20%, using certified seeds, sustainable soil amendment practices, precise fertilization management, weed management and pest and disease monitoring, as well as rational water management, FLAR in detail.

FLAR is a public-private alliance that brings together more than 30 organizations from 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that has Bioversity & CIAT Alliance as strategic members, both centers based in Colombia and that disseminate knowledge, technologies and innovations to promote efficient, productive, sustainable and profitable production sectors.

Panama is one of the countries with the highest consumption of rice per capita in the region, about 70 kilograms per person per year, said Graterol, who also highlighted the investments of national production sectors in technological development.

In Panama, the annual per capita consumption of white rice is estimated at about 154.32 pounds, one of the highest consumption in the world. The monthly national consumption is 431 thousand 99 quintals, the Ministry announcedMinistry of Agricultural Development (MIDA).

Under the motto ‘Innovation to feed the world’, These two congresses are supported by Funparroz, which in Panama brings together the companies Conagro Semillas (Grupo Agrosilos), SECOSA (Grupo Calesa) and the Federation of Rice and Cereals of Panama (FEDAGPA), whose benefits also extend to IDIAP (Institute of Agricultural Innovation of Panama) and Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Panama.

Students, farmers, experts and representatives of other sectors of the Latin American rice chain can participate in both congresses.