In response to coffee rust: Promotion of early warning system in Central America is recommended
San Jose, Costa Rica, 31 July, 2014 (IICA). In an effort to respond in a timely manner to the growing problem of coffee rust, incorporate information about other pests, and prevent the socio-economic and environmental effects that the disease causes, Central American countries should further promote the Regional Early Warning System (SRAT) created to deal with this epidemic. This was the conclusion reached by several organizations within the coffee sector and international bodies meeting in Costa Rica.
The SRAT is a technology tool developed since 2013 as a part of the Integrated Program for Combating Coffee Rust, promoted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Regional Cooperative Program for Technology Development and Modernization of Coffee Cultivation (PROMECAFE), among other organizations.
The program also promotes research on new varieties of coffee plants resistant to diseases, in order to maintain stable levels of regional production and ensure quality in Central American coffee as a reference on the world market.
Meeting at IICA headquarters, organizations linked to the regional coffee sector, as well as several technical and financial cooperation bodies, agreed to continue the program by means of the 2014-2015 Plan of Action.
This plan will focus on the integrated management of rust, research, care of the vulnerable population, and the development of institutional capacities in Central America and the Caribbean.
IICA manages the Executive Secretariat of PROMECAFE. Armando García, who is the Executive Secretary, stated that these actions will make it possible to mitigate the effects of coffee and diminish its impact on nutrition and food security of the region.
“Rust is a symptom of the problems of the coffee sector in our countries, which means that it requires comprehensive and strategic care. The plan is not an attempt to resolve structural deficiencies, but rather to deal with the consequences of the disease”, he affirmed.
The action plan, prepared by IICA, PROMECAFE and the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC), seeks to promote actions that provide immediate solutions for the producers and facilitate the economic, social and environmental sustainability of regional coffee cultivation.
In addition to the institutions already cited, the following organizations participated in the execution and planning of the plan: the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), World Coffee Research (WCR), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Tropical Agronomic Research and Training Center (CATIE), and the Secretariat of the Central American Agricultural Council (SECAC), among others.
The Integrated Program for Combating Coffee Rust reflects an agreement taken by the Central American Ministers of Agriculture (who make up the CAC) and the Declaration of Heads of State and Government of the countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), signed in February 2013 in Costa Rica, in response to the crisis caused by rust in the region.
PROMECAFE is a research and cooperation network made up of the national coffee institutes of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Peru, as well as IICA and CATIE. It has been in existence for 36 years.
For more information, contact:
armando.garcia@iica.int