“I don't know how to read or write, but through practice I learned a lot. For example, how to graft cacao and maintain it,” recounted Otilia Muñoz, from the district of Cañaveral.
She added that “through our drawings of the farm, we said what we could improve. When they ask me in my community what I learned, I can now explain about cacao.”
For her part, Noreida Villagra, from the district of Río Chiriquí, highlighted the value of hands-on experience.
“I come from the most distant district of Kusapín and I am taking home a lot of knowledge about how to graft and prune. We are used to having our traditional plot, and with these practices we can improve our farms,” she said.
From Bahía Azul, Urrutia Jesee pointed out the importance of learning new ways to make use of productive space.
Muñoz, Villagra and Urrutia were part of a group of residents from the districts of Río Chiriquí, Cañaveral, Bahía Azul and Tobobe, in the district of Kusapín, Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous territory, in Panama, who took part in a training session of the Kusapín se Adapta project, led by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center).
The Ministry of Agricultural Development trained cacao producers to strengthen the management of their agroforestry systems through theoretical and practical activities and visits to demonstration plots.
The session was led by the Bocas del Toro Regional Office and the te…
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Among the practices covered were grafting management, pruning, and land marking, which allowed producers to apply what they learned through hands-on exercises. (Courtesy)
"I don't know how to read or write, but through practice I learned a lot. For example, how to graft cacao and maintain it," recounted Otilia Muñoz, from the township of Cañaveral. She added that "through our drawings of the farm, we said what we could improve. When they ask me in my community what I learned, I can now explain about cacao."
For her part, Noreida Villagra, from the township of Río Chiriquí, highlighted the value of the hands-on experience. "I come from the farthest township of Kusapín, and I'm taking home a lot of knowledge about how to graft and prune. We are used to having our traditional plot, and with these practices we can improve our farms," she said.
From Bahía Azul, Urrutia Jesee pointed out the importance of learning new ways to make use of productive space. The group also learned firsthand about the work being carried out by the La Cascada Agrotouristic Artisanal Producers Association. (Courtesy)
Muñoz, Villagra, and Urrutia were part of a group of residents from the townships of Río Chiriquí, Cañaveral, Bahía Azul, and Tobobe, in the district of Kusapín, Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous territory, in Panama, who took part in a training session of the Kusapín se Adapta project, led by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center).
The Ministry of Agricultural Development trained cacao producers to strengthen the management of their agroforestry systems through theoretical and practical activities and visits to demonstration plots. The session was led by the Bocas del Toro Regional Office and the technical team of the Cacao KoLFACI project, with the participation of farmers from Bahía Azul, Cañaveral, Río Chiriquí, and Tobobe.
The sessions covered fertilization, the selection of genetic material and its link to grain quality. Work was also done on clonal compatibility, pruning, land marking, and graft management in nurseries. It was noted that participants applied the knowledge during field exercises.
The training included the establishment of plots with improved cacao clones and the presentation of the objectives achieved in the first phase of KoLFACI. The project seeks to promote nature-based solutions and expand cacao's productive alternatives. REUTERS/Johannes Christo
The project also presented the projections for its second phase, which includes the construction of a community nursery intended to support local production.
Adolfo Smith, technician for the Cacao KoLFACI project in Panama, praised the producers' willingness to incorporate new tools on their farms. "Seeing their commitment to adopting new techniques and improving their agroforestry farms shows us that, when we join efforts between institutions and communities, we drive the growth of cacao-farming families," he said.
The activities included tours of demonstration plots with improved clones located in Norteño and Quebrada Pinzón. Those lands are part of KoLFACI, which is implemented by the Ministry of Agricultural Development with support from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center. REUTERS/Johannes Christo
Farmers exchanged experiences with other cacao growers in the region and evaluated practices they could adapt to their own lands.
The visits, according to the organizers, allowed farmers to exchange experiences with other cacao growers in the region and evaluate practices they could adapt to their own lands. The group also learned firsthand about the work being carried out by the La Cascada Agrotouristic Artisanal Producers Association, a community organization linked to cacao production and led by a young Ngäbe.
The organizers reiterated that the activity was carried out in response to a request from the Kusapín se Adapta project, implemented by CATIE and funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. The initiative has the backing of government authorities.
The project seeks to promote nature-based solutions and expand productive alternatives through Good Agricultural Practices in agroforestry systems. Among the practices covered were grafting management, pruning, and land marking, which allowed producers to apply what they learned through hands-on exercises.
Likewise, participants became familiar with the advantages offered by cacao cultivation, which is being advanced by the La Cascada Agrotouristic Artisanal Producers Association.