Potato growers and agricultural institutions in Costa Rica create consortium for innovation

San Jose, Costa Rica, July 17, 2014 (IICA). Producers’ organizations and agriculture sector institutions in Costa Rica have set up a local consortium for agricultural research and innovation (known by their Spanish acronym, CLIITA) for potatoes, an alliance designed to promote innovative actions that will contribute to the country’s food and nutrition security.

*The alliance will work in coordination with farmers of other countries in the region, to ensure the supply of potatoes. Photo: IICA's Office in Costa Rica.*

The formal creation of the consortium was agreed at an activity held at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in San Jose, as the alliance was promoted by the Institute’s Regional Program for Research and Innovation in Agricultural Value Chains (PRIICA).

The members of the consortium include the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the National Potato Growers Association, the National Institute for Agricultural Technology Innovation and Transfer (INTA), the National Horticultural Corporation, the Cantonal Agricultural Center of Oreamuno, CoopeZarcero and producers from La Cima de Dota, Llano Grande de Cartago and El Triunfo de Turrialba.

At a meeting held at IICA on July 9, representatives of the different organizations decided the issues on which their work would focus under the Plan for Strategic Innovation (PEI) for potatoes. They also learned about the objectives and areas of work of PRIICA in the potato chain and the chains of cassava, avocadoes and tomatoes, in Costa Rica and the other Central American countries.

The PEI, developed by IICA and the INTA at the beginning of 2014, aims to encourage the creation of associative enterprises among stakeholders in the potato chain, and improve the supply of potatoes, the development of value added and the validation of seed varieties, among other tasks.

Jonathan Castro, a specialist in technological innovation, natural resources and climate change with the IICA Office in Costa Rica, believes the members’ active participation in the definition of the areas of work is one of the benefits offered by the consortium.

He also pointed out that the consortium would work in coordination with farmers in other countries of the region to guarantee supplies of potatoes.

The next step for the alliance will be to coordinate the participation of its members, so that each one plays a part in achieving the objectives of the PEI.

Any institutions or associations wishing to form part of the consortium should contactjaviles@inta.co.cr or jonathan.castro@iica.int.

For more information, contact:
jonathan.castro@iica.int