On August 19, Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC participated in the Workshop Digital Solutions to Improve Food Trade and Traceability, organized by the Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

During the workshop, Dr. Gerardo Escudero, Representative of IICA in Panama explained technical cooperation projects implemented by IICA to improve production and trade of beef, grapes, banana, coffee and other products in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. He also referred to pilots projects conducted by IICA to develop Blockchain in the agricultural sector to secure the transparency and traceability of products in domestic and international markets.

The workshop also included a presentation on Blockchain, delivered by Mr. David Proenza, President of the Foundation for Development of Controlled Environment Agriculture, who explained the concept, characteristics, and processes involved in this new digital platform, which is emerging as a new ecosystem for the agricultural sector to directly connect producers and consumers.

In his intervention, Dr. Ritter Diaz made a brief presentation of JAPOLAC, which seeks to facilitate trade between small and medium size companies of Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Diaz also congratulated IICA for his role in the establishment of the Research Center for Production of Agriculture in Controlled Environment as well as the development of digital platforms such as Blockchain to boost the agricultural sector.

At the closing of the workshop, H.E. Augusto Valderrama, Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama welcomed the efforts of IICA to introduce new digital technologies to the agriculture sector and expressed the strong support from his office to speed up the process of digital transformation of agriculture to improve life of farmers.

JAPOLAC organized a virtual meeting between Chiba University and the University of Costa Rica with the purpose of promoting academic exchanges between both universities with focus on renewable energy and environment.

Representatives from both universities made a presentation about their academic programs and agreed to organize a short online program for CU students next year.

Participants from Chiba University included Mr. Kiyoshi Takao, Deputy Director for International Affairs, Ms. Satoko Jumi, Chief, International Affairs Division, Dr. Michiko Takagaki, Faculty and Dr. Lu Na, Faculty. The University of Costa Rica was represented by Dr. Diana SENIOR ANGULO (Ms.), Director of the International Affairs Office and External Cooperation and Mr. Alejandro MORALES GUTIÉRREZ, in charge of cooperation with Asia.

JAPOLAC was represented by Ambassador Martha Zelayandia, Honorary Member of JAPOLAC, in charge of international academic programs, and Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of the Association who served as moderator of the meeting.

One of the activities of JAPOLAC is the promotion of international academic exchanges between universities of Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean to develop an academic and research network between Japan and LAC.

Panama, August 4, 2021. The National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) held a meeting with representatives of government institutions, private enterprise and academia, in which the Association of Public Interest Center for Research and Production of Agriculture in Controlled Environment (CIPAC AIP) was established last Friday, July 30, 2021.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Arnulfo Gutiérrez, director of the Institute of Agricultural Innovation of Panama (IDIAP); Mr. Eldis Barnes of the University of Panama; Mr. David Proenza Labrada of the Foundation for the Development of Agriculture in Controlled Environment (FUNDAAC); Mariel Edith Magrini from healthy growers and Felipe Ariel Rodríguez from the Fundación Centro de Competitividad de la Región Occidental de Panamá (CECOM-RO).

Other participants included Dr. Gerardo Escudero, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Panama, and other representatives of IICA, the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the University of Panama and SENACYT.

By unanimous vote, CIPAC AIP and its bylaws were approved as well as the authorization to submit to the Ministry of the Government of Panama the application for legal personality, including the selection of the first Board of Directors as follows:

President: The National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT)
Vice-President: The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA)
Secretary: University of Panama (UP)
Treasurer: The Competitiveness Center of the Western Region of Panama (CECOM-RO)
Director-Vocal: Foundation for the Development of Agriculture in Controlled Environment (FUNDAAC)

CIPAC AIP will be located in Tocumen and will establish the bases to promote research, training and production of agriculture in a controlled environment through the public-private partnership mechanism.

“This mechanism will facilitate governance and continuity in the medium and long term, without depending on a government administration. We aspire to move forward, in this non-profit center, carrying out actions to develop a sustainable, efficient and universal research, in accordance with the Strategic Plan of Government and the National Strategic Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (PENCYT 2019-2024)” said Dr. Eduardo Ortega-Barría, national secretary of SENACYT.

Partnerships are expected to be made with national research, innovation and teaching centers in the country as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Production of agriculture in a controlled environment allows to enhance and protect the agricultural production from external elements utilizing technologies to control soil, water, climate, nutrition and temperature, reducing the presence of pests, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, among others, and with a lower use of pesticides and other agrochemicals. This system helps to produce innocuous and better-quality products, with higher yields, using less space and contributing, in addition, to a reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG).
During the meeting, Dr. Escudero gave an overview of the evolution in Panama’s agriculture under controlled conditions in the last 20 years, from agroplasty, where plastics are used to protect crops from environmental factors, through greenhouses with technologies that include nets, fertigation, soil analysis, substrate use, water recycling, that is, saving technologies with less GHG emissions to vertical farming.

In his speech, Dr. Escudero highlighted the fact that Panama has depended on technologies from other countries and each sector has carried out un-coordinated actions, each one with its own learning curve. However, after hosting three international congresses on controlled environment agriculture in 2015, 2017 and 2019, with a better articulation between the public and private sectors, and adding the efforts of universities, in 2020, we concluded the exercise to elaborate a public-private policy proposal that promotes research and innovation in the sector of agriculture in controlled environment with an aim to create CIPAC AIP.
Also the updating of PENCYT had an influence in this development which included a policy to promote applied research to increase the competitiveness of agricultural production systems, and the enactment of the law for the Establishment of Companies to Operate and Develop Agroparks and Conglomerates.

“CIPAC AIP will be a center to develop national capacities, to mark Panama in the world, not as a recipient of technologies, but as a generator of technologies and products,” said Dr. Escudero.

For his part, Dr. Ortega-Barría indicated that, “The ecosystem of AIP’s in Panama helps us to catalyze the great ambition we have to progress in strategic areas where we have to strengthen governance, give them the financing and flexibility to help transform this country, strengthen competitiveness and productivity. Senacyt’s commitment, through the National Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation (FONACITI) is to help in this process so that we can progress with the CIPAC AIP project.”   In addition, he mentioned that SENACYT obtained an extraordinary government credit in 2021, and additional funding has been requested in the 2022 budget to support the development of this center.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Director Representative of JAPOLAC, and Mr. Ricardo Gonzalez, Commercial Director of the Association held a meeting with Mrs. Katia Monzon, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Cuba to explain about the business membership section of JAPOLAC.

Dr. Diaz also informed Mrs. Monzon that JAPOLAC recently started the approach to chambers of commerce and business associations of Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean to introduce the business membership section, which is targeting small and medium size companies interested in accessing the market of the other.

Dr. Diaz expressed his thankfulness to Mrs. Monzon for the meeting and indicated the interest of JAPOLAC to exchange views with the chamber of commerce of Cuba or any other business association to promote Cuban products in the Japanese market.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC, and Mr. Ricardo Gonzalez, Commercial Director of Association held a virtual meeting with Dr. Gerardo Escudero, Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and Mr. David Proenza, President of the Foundation for Development of Controlled Environment Agriculture to inform about the establishment in Panama of the Research Center for Production of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CIPAC in Spanish) in Panama.

One of the activities of JAPOLAC is the promotion of controlled environment agriculture in the region of Latin and America and the Caribbean, and for that purpose, will join efforts with CIPAC to generate changes in the agriculture production systems of the region, especially now that Climate Change is threatening the sustainability of open sky agriculture.

JAPOLAC will cooperate with CIPAC seeking partnerships and alliances with Japanese universities, research centers, associations and companies which are involved in the development of this new agricultural technology.