More than 60,000 manzanas of coffee crops will be protected with the implements delivered yesterday by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Enrique Parada.
The official visited the municipality of Chinameca, in San Miguel, with the purpose of benefiting the coffee growers who were affected by tropical storm Julia.
“There are more than $1.5 million that the government is investing in this plan only for the case of coffee, but in the totality of all items, we have $27 million,” said the minister, who added that the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) donated $500,000 to them.
Parada stressed that the east is the area where the most affected were, so the government of the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, seeks to support people who have lost their sources of income in different ways.
“Coffee farmers are not alone, they have a president who cares about them and a ministry that works to support them in the face of any adversity,” said Parada.
He added that the delivery they made is of foliar, fungicides, and adherents, which soon have to be applied by the coffee growers to avoid fungus and damage to the fruit.
The director of rural development, Amílcar Landaverde, explained that they have 16 coffee agencies where producers can pick up the implements.
In the eastern zone, there are four, and they are located in Santiago de María, Usulutan; Osicala, Morazán; Ciudad Barrios; and Chinameca, in San Miguel.
“All these implements will help us fight rust and any other disease caused by the recent rains. The products that will be delivered have the function of preventing and attacking rust; they are more effective,” Landaverde asserted.
Rosa Yanira Gómez is one of the people affected by the flood on her farm. She said that she has six manzanas of coffee crops, so this help will serve to protect the coffee planting for the next harvest.
“This is the first time that we have had such support and we are very grateful to the government for this help. With this great help, each producer is saving more than $1,000 or $1,500,” said Gómez.
Sergio Ticas, president of the Coffee Association of El Salvador, thanked the government for all the support that has been given to all coffee growers in the country.
«This will serve to beat up the effects left by Storm Julia, since if we do not act, what can happen is that the grain does not ripen. 40% of those affected are in the eastern zone and it is distributed in the upper zone of Perquín and Osicala in Morazán,” Ticas said.