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Texas A&M System signs agricultural cooperation agreement with PanamaTexas The Texas A&M System has signed a memorandum of technical and scientific cooperation which will help Panama improve its agricultural competitiveness and enhance its agricultural capacity. Through this agreement, Texas A&M System entities, primarily Texas AgriLife Research, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, will play a key role in assisting Panama with a number of national agricultural programs. All these entities are under the direction of the university's interim vice chancellor for agriculture, Dr. Mark Hussey. "We're excited about bringing the capabilities of our agencies into this joint effort with our Panamanian colleagues," Hussey said. "There is great potential for our mutual efforts to be of significant benefit to the people of Panama." The agreement was signed during a ceremony in Panama in March. Signatories included President Martin Torrijos Espino of Panama, Dr. Guillermo Salazar, Panama's Minister of Agriculture and Dr. Elsa Murano, president of Texas A&M University. Other participants included Dr. Ed Smith, director of AgriLife Extension, Dr. Edwin Price, director of the Borlaug Institute, and Mario Dominguez, secretary general of Panama's Ministry of Agricultural Development. The agreement focuses on three general areas of cooperation, Smith said. "The first area relates to helping strengthen Panama's national food safety program, which is essential to ensuring their agricultural exports will be acceptable to other countries," he said. "The second will focus on strengthening their national agricultural Extension Service. And the third will address technical assistance with their livestock, rice and jatropha production." Jatrohpa is a genus of trees, plants and shrubs native to Central America. Jatropha seeds contain a large percentage of oil and have been identified as a promising source for biofuel, particularly biodiesel, production. In the food safety area, Texas A&M System experts will work with Panamanian officials and others to ensure standards meet international requirements for beef, poultry, fruits and vegetables, Smith said. This effort also will involve the cooperation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Panama's Extension Service will receive technical training on topics including integrated pest management, small agribusiness development, sales and marketing, irrigation and drainage system management, dairy product processing, health and nutrition, and family and community gardening. There also will be educational outreach targeted at limited-resource farming families. Some training will be held at the National Agricultural Institute in Divisa, and the agreement also refers to the possibility of Texas A&M establishing a research center in that facility. Per the agreement, assistance to Panama's livestock sector will involve enhancing market competition and productivity, including developing strategies to improve cattle stock through selective breeding. It also addresses the need to increase livestock forage material quality, enhance sanitary standards in slaughterhouses, and improve processing of dairy products, including cheese and yogurt. "The agreement also promotes academic exchange between U.S. and Panamanian students and researchers," said Johanna Roman, coordinator for Latin American programs at the Borlaug Institute. "These combined efforts will enhance research and help improve agriculture in Panama, which will help make that country an even more important location for the development and marketing of agricultural products, including non-traditional products." Roman added that a delegation from Panama led by Dominguez visited Texas A&M University in College Station in February to tour its facilities and learn first-hand about improvements in agricultural technology, methods and education. The five-day visit included presentations on vegetable and fruit production and improvement, plant genomics and biotechnology, meat science and technology, bioenergy crops, veterinary medicine, and rice and jatropha production. "We were glad to reciprocate the visit and come to Panama at the invitation of President Torrijos, who is himself a Texas A&M graduate," Smith added. "We're looking forward to working with him, the agriculture ministry and other governmental and non-governmental agencies and agricultural university personnel to help Panama improve their agricultural development, quality and capacity." ------CUTLINE------ President Martin Torrijos Espino of Panama, left, watches as Dr. Elsa Murano, president of the Texas A&M System, signs an agreement of technical and scientific cooperation during a recent visit to Panama. To Murano's right is Dr. Edwin Price, director Texas A&M's Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. (Photo courtesy of Borlaug Institute.)
Date: 5/1/08
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