The city of Canas in the province of Guanacaste is now home to the first research station in Costa Rica that is dedicated to studying the effects of climate change… Read more » Continue reading →
The city of Canas in the province of Guanacaste is now home to the first research station in Costa Rica that is dedicated to studying the effects of climate change on soil and regional agriculture. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Affairs (Spanish acronym: MAG), this research station is the first of its kind in Costa Rica, Central America and the Caribbean.
Research Station Enrique Jimenez Nunez is the result of a coordination project between MAG and the Institute of Agricultural Technology Transference (Spanish acronym: INTA). One of the first activities in this new station was to invite more than 400 farmers from the Chorotega agricultural zone of Guanacaste, as well as from other regions of Costa Rica such as Parrita, Puntarenas and Upala. The first order of business: Dealing with water shortages in the region.
A woman from Parrita was among the first to speak up about the climate change effects she has witnessed at her farm. She mentioned that she is ready to take measures to adopt to climate change since it is already affecting the profitability of her crops.
Other farmers were very interested in some of the research projects underway, which include a drip irrigation system for certain plants and herbs, a soil-efficient method of cultivating corn and sorghum, how to reinvigorate soil by mixing leguminous plants with other cash crops, how to feed cattle without wasting water, etc.
One of INTA’s proposals costs just $5; it is a soil test that evaluates fertility and crop yield in simplified terms and lets farmers make decisions on what they should do.
This new research station, which can be expanded to 99 hectares in Canas, seeks scientific –rather than political– solutions to climate change issues. Water shortages in Guanacaste are not only caused by climate change; socioeconomic factors such as increased tourism and real estate development are taking a toll on the water supplies of this region, which is the driest in Costa Rica to begin with.