Costa Rica: towards the modernization of its agriculture

High-level seminar analyzes the country’s policy priorities and organizations

What direction should Costa Rica’s agriculture take? Which policies need to be reviewed? And, what type of public and private organizations must be developed to accompany the sector’s modernization process? These were the major issues analyzed recently at a high-level seminar entitled “Analysis of policy priorities and organizations for Costa Rican Agriculture, 2006-2010”, held on July 7, and organized by INCAE and the Central American Academy, with the support of RUTA and SIDE (Servicios Internacionales de Desarrollo Empresarial).

The one-day seminar was an intense working session attended by some 60 participants associated with the agricultural sector, entrepreneurs, business leaders, public officials and representatives of institutions, universities and international organizations, and was inaugurated by Eduardo Lizano, President of the Central American Academy, and Roberto Artavia, Rector of INCAE.

Towards a modern agriculture

Costa Rica’s agriculture should be based on principles such as a business vision, product quality and added value, the development of human capacities and a recognition of the social problems in the rural environment that cannot be solved by agriculture. It should also develop a framework of coherent policies that benefit rural populations.

These were some of the aspects mentioned by , Assistant Director of CLACDS- INCAE, in the first of three lectures imparted during the seminar. Pratt emphasized that agriculture has had  - and will continue to have - a major influence on macroeconomic policies and trade policy, but he added that this alone couldn’t be expected to guide the sector’s development.

A similar view was expressed by the speakers: Mario Cavallini, of Hortifruti Central America, and Rafael Celis, of ProDesarrollo Internacional, who explained that in order to stimulate private investment it is first necessary to create a climate of confidence through appropriate policies, generate public goods with broad benefits and develop people’s capacities and skills. He also stressed the importance of stimulating group initiatives, new types of businesses and strategic alliances.

Laws and public institutions require substantive reforms

In his presentation, Carlos Pomareda, Director of SIDE (Servicios Internacionales de Desarrollo Empresarial- International Business Development Services), noted that Costa Rica’s agricultural laws and public institutions are clearly obsolete and require substantive reforms. This need for institutional change also involves private sector organizations, which are called upon to play an increasingly important role in the delivery of services for agriculture and related agro-industries. In this regard, speakers Renato Alvarado and Mario Montero, as well as the participants, agreed that it is essential to understand and promote much closer links between agriculture, agroindustry and the food industry with distribution centers.

For his part, the Agriculture Minister, Alfredo Volio, offered an in-depth analysis of the public sector institutions and revealed the constraints arising from the institutional framework that created them many years ago, the failure to modernize their functions and the lack of coordination between the different entities. He pointed out that in the process to integrate the Ministries of Economy and Industry and of Agriculture, it is not only necessary to consider the global vision, but also the internal procedures and traditional ways of working that undermine the efficiency in the provision of services.

The Labor Minister, Francisco Morales, the President of CINDE, Alberto Trejos, and the Director of RUTA, Miguel Gómez, emphasized that Costa Rica’s agricultural sector has a major task ahead but that it is indispensable to undertake it, especially considering its increased insertion in the global economy. They noted that institutional reform should also address the question of responsibilities at the regional level, as well as the need to promote rural development.