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In the past 20 years, remarkable growth has occurred in the organic industry. Since 1990, US sales of organic food and beverage have grown from $1 billion to $24.8 billion in 2009. With so many outlets—mass and natural market retailers, farmers markets, the Internet, CSA’s, etc.—finding organic products is a relatively easy task. Well, let me rephrase. Finding organic products is a relatively easy task in the US, that is.

For the past month, I have been on a mission to seek out organic providers in Panama and learn about the market for organics. Getting good vegetables in Panama is surprisingly difficult. The availability of organic produce is limited. To be able to determine the state of organics in Panama, I’ve had to dig deeper. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you some of my insights thus far.

The history of agriculture plays a large part in the current state of organics. Agriculture received little attention until the 20th century, and as late as the 1980s, a large part of the population had barely developed beyond indigenous Indian techniques. Therefore, I believe the best place to start is with Panama’s history over the past 50 years—a tumultuous period of dictators, coup d’état, and revolutions.

In 1968, the governments of Omar Torrijos and Manual Noriega overthrew the democratic government of President Arias. Over the next 10 years the government undertook agrarian reform and attempted to redistribute the land. Agricultural output rose, due to increased fishing activities, disease-resistant banana trees, and the development of high-value fruit and vegetable production. While social conditions in rural areas improved, long-term economic effects were limited. The government promoted heavy use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides such as Paraquat—a pesticide which is banned in Europe and requires a license to use in the US. Local farmers attempted to gather together to present their health concerns over high local rates of cancer, asthma, and acute poisoning, but were met discouraged.

Despite the continued expansion and employment of the largest number of workers, which grew at an average annual rate of 2.4% between 1965 and 1980, and 2.7% between 1980 and 1985, the agriculture industry’s share of GDP declined substantially. In1950, the GDP stood at 29% and within 15 years it dropped to 18% and eventually fell to about 9% in 1985. Bananas, shrimp, and sugar continued to lead the list of export items. The expansion of the agricultural sector relied on exports and product diversification. Environmental groups did not make an appearance until after the overthrow of Noriega by the US in 1989. Farmers started using organic fertilizers such as rice husks and manure, as it was also more cost-efficient. They used cheaper methods of sustainable agriculture, although more labor intensive.(1)

Currently, small ‘finca’ owners, business owners, and environmentalists are pushing the growth of the organic movement. I have found estimates of there being 600 to 800 organic farmers in Panama, although I do not know how this number was gathered. These are small organic farms, and only a third of these are certified organic.(2) With strict regulations set for organic imports in Europe and the US, it makes it difficult for Panamanian organic farms to scale up.

The most common agricultural products are sugarcane, bananas, rice, plantains, corn, and oranges. Over 3/4 of Panama’s produce (excluding corn, rice, and wheat) is from the southwestern farming region around Cerro Punta near Volcan Baru, Panama’s highest peak. I have found many names of ex-Pats and Panamanians in this region who have started organic farms.(3) In the next couple of weeks I look forward to interviewing as many organic producers and suppliers as possible, starting with one of the representatives from Culantro Rojo, a Panama City based company that delivers organic food baskets. We at Kalu Yala are customers ourselves! I will make sure to keep you guys posted on my organic food adventures!

Overall, there is irrefutable evidence that the organic industry is on the rise in Panama, paralleling the trends seen in agriculture worldwide. In many ways, part of Panama’s low cost of living is the low cost of vegetables in Panama, increasingly grown organically. For modern farmers ‘organic’ farming is a new concept, requiring an expensive conversion process. However, in Panama farms don’t need as drastic renovations as large commercial farms do. In many ways, the lack of ‘modern’ sophistication and mass production will benefit Panama as the sustainable agriculture movement continues to grow.

Sustainable agriculture has been practiced since early civilization. Hopefully the transition to organics will prove to be a feasible task for Panama farmers, for they are just going back to their roots!

(1) http://www.photius.com/countries/panama/economy/panama_economy_agriculture.html 10-Nov-04
(2) http://jerechica-in-boquete.blogspot.com/2009/05/growing-organic-in-panama.html 19-May-09
(3) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440722/Panama/41009/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing Oct-10