BOLETIN No 5

Quarterly newsletter of the Director of the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance - RUTA
RUTA is a Project of the Ministries of Agriculture of Central America, the World Bank, IDB, DFID, FAO, IFAD, IICA, IFPRI

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MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

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BELIZE COSTA RICA EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA HONDURAS NICARAGUA PANAMA AND CENTRAL AMERICA

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PANAMA AND CENTRAL AMERICA

RUTA National Technical Units: bastions of rural development in Central America

Promoting development and reducing poverty in Central American rural areas is the mission of the RUTA's UTNs. In the picture: Honduran rural family.The National Technical Units of RUTA play a crucial role in rural development, improving the competitiveness of rural production and reducing poverty in the rural areas of Central America.

At present, there are six National Technical Units in the following member countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Activities in Panama are coordinated directly by the RUTA Regional Office and a liaison official appointed by MIDA.

From the institutional standpoint, the National Technical Units work with the ministries of agriculture and livestock. This facilitates coordination with the ministry offices and other institutions in the agroproduction sector, supporting and promoting actions, policies, projects, processes and agreements aimed at improving competitiveness and living standards in rural areas.

As described by Miguel Gómez, Director of the RUTA Project, the National Technical Units support implementation of the guidelines drawn up by the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) and carry out an active program of work, in line their priorities and with the RUTA Plan of Work. Most of the Units are capitalizing on the experience gained from more than 20 years of joint efforts in the region. Most of the National Technical Units were created in 1980, when the RUTA Project was put underway.

BRIEF NOTES FROM PANAMA

Progress in drawing up the Central American Agricultural Policy (PACA)

Significant progress was made in drawing up the Central American Agricultural Policy during the Minister of Agriculture's term as pro tempore Chair of the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC), even though the policy is not binding on Panama. The second meeting of the working group on PACA was held in Panama on 22 May 2006. This group, which is made up of the policy directors and advisors of the Central American ministries of agriculture, received technical support from CAC, RUTA, IICA and the ETEA Foundation. At this meeting, decisions were taken on the six areas to be covered by PACA and the overall objective of the policy. Gabriela de Morales, Policy Director of MIDA, served as coordinator of the technical group on public investment.

Virtual dialogues

Panama participated actively in all of RUTA's activities, including the regional efforts to combat bird flu and the studies on the impact of CAFTA on the rural economy of Central America. During these events, the strategic role played by RUTA in facilitating dialogue between the countries of the isthmus was stressed.

Host to the supervisory mission

In May 2006, Panama hosted the RUTA supervisory mission, with MIDA playing an active role in this regard. The mission expressed satisfaction at the progress made by the RUTA Project and by the countries in the area of sustainable rural development.