GMOs (Genetically

Modified Organisms)

are coming to

Panama!

Are you as concerned about

the food you eat as we are?

This whole talk about

genetically modified food is of

real concern to us. We did

some research. Here is what

we found…

Let’s start with Panama’s

Agricultural history

Excerpt from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Agriculture_in_Panama

Historically, Agriculture in

Panama is a sector of

Panama's economy that

includes economy and trade

among agricultural goods

within Panama. For a long

time, it's said that farming in

Panama, had been the

dominant economic activity

for most of the country's

population. After construction

of the Panama Canal,

agriculture declined.

Currently, agriculture and

fisheries comprise 7.4% of the

country's GDP(Gross Domestic

Products). Agriculture employs

such a large number of

Panamanians (in relation to

its. percentage of the

country's GDP) because many

farmers are engaged in

subsistence farming and only

produce enough for their

family to consume.

Concurrently, agricultural

products also provide the

nation's main exports.

Bananas accounted for 33

percent of the nation's

exports, shrimp 11 percent,

sugar 4 percent, and coffee 2

percent. About half of the

land in Panama is used for

agriculture. Between 1969 and

1977, the government

undertook agrarian reform and

attempted to redistribute

land. The expanded role of

the state in agriculture

improved social conditions in

rural areas, but long-term

economic effects of the

agrarian reform were modest.

In the early and mid-1980s,

the government sought to

reverse the decline of

agriculture by diversifying

agricultural production,

lowering protection barriers,

and reducing the state's role

in agriculture. In March 1986,

the government instituted

major changes in the

agricultural incentives law

and removed price controls,

trade restrictions, farm

subsidies, and other supports.

Currently, Panama is a net

food importer and the U.S. by

far, is its main supplier.

PA 507 730-9472

USA 952-931-9770

Email:

Volume 3-14 October, 2014

Check out this video on “How to

tell if the produce is GMO”

National Commission of Biosafety

The National Commission of Biosafetyfor Genetically Modified Organisms ofPanama will not directly authorizethe use, production, introduction orconsumption of genetically modifiedorganisms (GMO) in Panama, but itwill recommend the competentauthority to approve or not the use,production, introduction, research orconsumption of a GMO in Panama,and will recommend the adoption ofBiosafety and Management Plan forgenetically modified organisms.Under the National Commission ofBiosafety for Genetically ModifiedOrganisms of Panama, are threeBiosafety Committees, which have toconduct risk analysis and riskassessments, case by case and step bystep, with science - based evidence.

Depending on the type and use of theGMO, the respective Committee willbe in charge to pursue the analysisand assessments:

a) Biosafety Committee onAgriculture

b) Biosafety Committee on PublicHealth

c) Biosafety Committee onEnvironment

The competent authorities who willhave to make the final decision,depending on the recommendation ofthe National Commission of Biosafetyfor Genetically Modified Organisms ofPanama, are the following ministriesand authorities, with their respectivescope of jurisdiction:

The Ministry of AgriculturalDevelopment (MIDA) agents and seedsfor agricultural production.

The Ministry of Health (MINSA)

The Ministry of Commerce andIndustry (MICI)

The National Authority for theEnvironment (ANAM)

The Panamanian Food SafetyAuthority (AUPSA)

The National Secretariat of Science,Technology and Innovation (SENACYT)

The Authority of Aquatic Resourcesof Panama (ARAP)

The Authority for ConsumerProtection and Defense of theCompetition (ADECO)

One would hope that with all thesecommittees and ministries, Panamawould make sounds decisions abouthow to handle GMO seeds and crops.As mentioned earlier, Panama hasbeen importing agricultural and foodproducts from the U.S. and GMOshave already been introduced toPanama.

We don’t know what long termimpact this is going to have on thecrops and the way of life ofPanamanian people.

Organic Farming in Boquete

Efforts are underway by manylocals and expats in the Boquetearea to produce fruits andvegetables that are free fromthe GMO influence. They wouldlike to continue to provideproduce that follows thetraditional farming practices.

Here is an excerpt fromAdventurous Living that talks aboutthe farming in the Chiriquiprovince:http://adventurousliving.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/the-organic-hydroponic-greenhouses-of-boquete-panama/

With the influx of expats moving toPanama and especially Boquete,Panama, there has been greatconcern about the use of GMOs inthe Panamanian produce. Thiscaused the rising up of organicagriculture. One particularcompany Hidroponicas de Boquetemakes a huge difference to manyPanamanian and ex-pat dinnertables.

In the USA organic produce is soreadily available but here inPanama a few years back, ashopper would walk through theproduce line in the local grocerystores and walk right past thelocally grown wilted head oflettuce. Sorry to say, it was reallybad because produce in Panama isstill not transported in refrigeratedtrucks and we’re talking thetropics here.

The Bell family offer a wide varietyof lettuces for a few years now.And thanks to Guillermo andDioselina de Bell S. we now walkinto the local grocery store and getto buy a wide variety of organicallygrown hydroponics lettuces andherbs. Furthermore, as offered byGuillermo and Dioselina, thelettuces are still a living growingfood source as they are deliveredin the same little containers theyare grown in.

In 2001 Guillermo E. Bell S. wasthe first pioneer in Boquete,Panama to supply farmers withseeds for their crops. Then camethe ex-pats and, sadly, localfarmers were willing to sell theirland. A lot of farms weretransformed into housingprojects. The amount of farmersand farms were on the decline. Ex-pats purchased farms and createdprivate organic produce from theirlands. The growth of organicfarming began to grow. Here are a

couple of Boquete, PanamaOrganic Farms (Fincas)

Finca de la Amistadhttp://www.amistadverde.com/

Hidroponicas de Boquete:http://adventurousliving.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/the-organic-hydroponic-greenhouses-of-boquete-panama/

Finca dos Jefes:http://www.boquetecoffeetour.com/

Also available at the TuesdayMarket (A market similar to a fleamarket or farmers market locatedin the heart of downtownBoquete.) the organic farms ofFinca Santa Martahttp://www.fincasantamarta.biz/would bring organic vegetables forsale, they also have a pre-sellforms on their website that theycan grow for you and they wouldbring your order to the market.Local expats Susan and Pat createdan organic farm and they are fullof information on the process ofcreating an organic farm.

Their organic food from the

cherry tomatoes to the

specialized holiday pumpkins

seems to have immense flavors!

Though Susan and Pat do not

sell their produce, they are full

of information and their

Facebook page is filled with

educational resources and

information. Check them out at

Finca Tierra Pura Boquete on

Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/fin

catierrapura.boquete?fref=ts

Over the past decade, Boquete hassteadily gained popularity as atourist destination as well as aretirement haven for many expatsfrom all over the world. It keepsshowing up as one of the top placesto retire on ratings done by“International Living” and similarpublishing groups. It is no wonderthat each year Boquete experiencesan influx of tourists, especiallyduring the “High Season” that startswith the Panama national holidaysin early November all the waythrough April Easter Holidays. Asthe rains become more and moreinfrequent and people throughoutPanama are gearing up for theirNovember holidays, manyPanamanians from larger towns andcities, especially Panama City, areready to escape for a few days tohigher elevations. It is a bit coolerin higher elevations, less humid andthe air is a lot cleaner. ManyPanamanians have had fondmemories of their childhoodvacations in El Valle, Boquete,Volcan and Cerro Punta. One of ourrecent guests told us that theycome to Boquete at least 2-3 timesper year, just like many of theirPanama City friends. They typicallydon’t mind taking the 7- hour roadtrip to come here. Below is a recentvideo of Boquete Jazz Festival2014:

As the first signs of winter show upin North America and Europe, wesee a dramatic rise in inquiries andreservations at the Inns, Hotels andBed & Breakfasts in Boquete. Mostpeople are looking for an adventureand a respite from the coldweather. Not everyone plans early,there are those who like to live onthe edge and just show up in townover Christmas and New Year.Imagine their surprise when theyspend hours driving from one hotelto the next, looking for a room. Asfor us, we advise people to alwaysbook way in advance to avoid beinginconvenienced later. High Season isalso generally the time when manytour companies from Europe and

North America like to book largegroups of people to come andvisit Panama.

A large group can easily takeover a whole place, especially aplace like ours that has fewerrooms. We pride ourselves inbeing able to providepersonalized service to ourguests and for that reason, wehave chosen to only have sixrooms.

The Boquete Flower and CoffeeFestival that lasts for about 10days brings both Panamanianand overseas tourists.Festivities at the fairgroundslast into the early hours of themorning. It seems like thepopulation of Boquete doublesduring those days. In recentyears, the Boquete Jazz andBlues Festival has steadilygained popularity. This pastFebruary, each and everyperson at our Bed & Breakfastwas visiting Boquete to attendthis 4-day event. Already, wehave had multiple inquiries fornext year. The Carnival inMarch is a time for celebrationand many locations in Panamahost huge parties and severaldays of events. Dolega, locatedjust down the road fromBoquete, is one such location.Many tourists like to stay inBoquete and just drive downfor the day to Dolega.

Boquete has also become adestination for young peoplewho are interested in all kindsof outdoor adventures such ashorseback riding, mountainclimbing, zip lining, riverrafting, etc. Many backpackerscan be seen around town,especially in the High Season(aka Dry Season). People of allages also come to Boqueteduring these same months totake Spanish Language Classes.These classes can last anywherefrom a few days to severalmonths. We have had severalstudents stay at Casa deMontaña for a few weeks to amonth since we are walkingdistance from “Habla Ya”, aSpanish Language School.

Finding a place to stay in Boquete, Panama, from November through April - Why is it such a problem?

By Manzar Lari

* Manzar & Terry

For some of the reasons shared

above, we would encourage our

guests to make their

reservations early so that they

are guaranteed a room at our

Bed & Breakfast. We would like

to be able to make your stay in

Boquete a relaxing and fun

experience. The High Season is

around the corner and we are

here to assist you in any way we

can. *Contact us through our

website

With the population growth in Panama and the expat community calling Panama their home, farmers need to

produce more food faster. Panama has sought out opportunities for this growth working together with the

Panamanian government and the expat communities. With all parties working together, we can educate and affirm

commitment to the best healthy lifestyle possible.

The stage was set

Panama was five minutes away from qualifying for thisyear’s World Cup Soccer that was going to be celebratedin Brazil. The dream of all Panamanians has been to seeour national team play the World Cup. Panama was upby two goals and we needed to win that game in orderto qualify for the World Cup. Everyone started to feellike this was really happening. The whole country wasmesmerized with the game. What a hugedisappointment for us because in less than five minutesthe US team tied the game and scored another goal inovertime thus shattering our hopes of going to the WorldCup Soccer in Brazil this year. This dream was momentsaway from materializing but the US team took away thisdream for 2014. Panama has never qualified for theWorld Cup and this could have been the biggest thingthat our national team would have done. The World Cupis celebrated every four years and this year was theclosest they had ever been to qualify for the World Cup.Even though we did not qualify, we came close and thatmeans that each year the Panamanian team is becomingstronger and stronger. People in Panama are lookingforward to the next qualifying round and they are hopingto see our national team in the next World Cup whichwill be celebrated in Russia in 2018.

My Personal Passion

My favorite sport is soccer and that is the sport I haveplayed since I was 6 years old. I would say soccer is mypassion and I enjoy it every single second of my life andI look for constant updates related to soccer in theworld news. In addition, I have been told by otherssince I was young that I had the talent of playing soccerespecially as a goalkeeper. I have played soccer ondifferent teams in Boquete and I also had theopportunity to play for a college in the US which wasthe best experience I could have ever had. Playingsoccer at college level in another country was a greatexperience because I had the chance to play withfellow students from different countries and to trainwith professional coaches. The feeling of being part ofa diverse team was thrilling, it felt like I was playingfor a professional team. We would travel to differentregions of the state and play in various soccerstadiums. During my first year of playing for mycollege, we won the regionals so we became thenumber one team at the college level in the wholestate. Then we went on to the nationals where only thebest college teams in the US would play against eachother to see who could climb to the top.

Even though we did not win the overallchampionship, all of this experience helped me tobecome more skilled at the game and to play evenbetter. All of the hard work lead me to have anopportunity to try out for a professional team fromthe Major League Soccer (MLS) and that was justlike a dream come true! I gave it my best, notletting fear get in my way. The level of competitionwas really high and I did my best to qualify to be onthe team but didn’t quite make it. I moved on withmy life. Who knows, there is always a possibility inthe future I will have another chance like that.Eventually I returned to Boquete, Panama, to be re-united with my family and to pursue my collegedegree.

Rapidly overcoming barriers!

Panama is one of the countries that has beendeveloping faster in sports than most of the CentralAmerican countries. In Panama, people like sports ingeneral but the most popular ones are soccer,baseball and boxing. As the years pass by, more andmore people are getting involved in sports,especially young people. Students in Panama arerequired to play a sport while they are in highschool, such as soccer, basketball, swimming,baseball and more. Over the past five years, soccerin Panama is the sport that make the fans comealive with passion during every game when thenational team plays. Panama has its eyes set on thenext World Cup. The Panama national soccerteam represents Panama in international soccer. Theteam is controlled by the governing body for soccerin Panama called Panamanian (soccer) FootballFederation, which is currently a member of TheConfederation of North, Central American andCaribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and theregional Union of Central American Football(UNCAF). Panama finished as runners-up in the 2005Gold Cup and 2013 Gold Cup. Panama reachedthe fourth round for the 2006 World Cup CONCACAFqualifications and advanced to the fourth round forthe 2014 World Cup CONCACAF qualifications. Thereis a parallel that can be drawn between Panama’sdesire to be “world class” in sports and hopefullynot only qualify but to win the World Cup as well myown desire to be the best I can be in whatever Ipursue. My earlier experiences in living and going toschool in the U.S. has given me the foundation to domy personal best in whatever I choose to do. Mycountry of Panama and I are both dreamers and weare committed to doing our best.

Let’s see where this journey takes us!

Soccer in Panama: A National Passion!

By Eliecer Andres Lay

Andres’s love for soccer

took him to a multicultural

winning team in the US

Check out this video

This is Richard Detrich and he has lived in Panama for 10

years with his wife Nikki. When not at sea, Richard and his

wife enjoy life on their coffee farm and spending time at a

little casita on the Pacific Ocean with their three dogs, Spot,

Monkey and Baru. Richard[AB, Mdiv, MBA, PhD] enjoyed varied

career as a pastor and business man before retiring from

Southern California to Panama. In "retirement” Richard and

his wife have a coffee farm in the mountain near Boquete,

Panama, ad Richard lectures on ships around the world,

including the ships of Holland America, Princess, Crystal and

Celebrity.

Local Businesses The New Escape to Paradise

Order The New Escape to Paradise

and other books through

An excerpt from Richard’s

Introduction page

I was wrong! Lecturing on cruise ships,

people kept asking the same questions

over and over. Why we moved to

Panama and what it was like. So I

decided to write a book, Escape to

Paradise, not really expecting manypeople would buy it. I was wrong! A lot of folks are very interested in escaping to paradise! Now

with ten years of living in Panama and all the changes in the world economy and in Panama, I felt

it was time to rework the entire book, hence The New Escape to Paradise.

In my academic and professional career I’ve learned to write many different ways. There were

those dreaded term papers in high school, one short story a week in my freshman college English

course, writing sermons for oral presentation in seminary, a PhD thesis, business writing, and web

copy. Through it all I’ve learned that the best way to communicate is to write the way you talk. So

I’m always pleased when reviewers say the book is “like talking to Richard over breakfast,” and

less pleased when others want to pick things apart, pointing out flaws in grammar. Most folks don’t

worry much about grammar when they talk with friends.

This book is, as the title indicates, about Panama, although I will share with you how we sorted

through several countries before choosing Panama. Of course this book is based on our own

personal experience in Chiriqui, the province in which both Boquete and Boca Chica are located.

Enjoy the book and I hope to meet you one day in Panama!

Here at Casa de Montaña we are honored to have Richard and Nikki as friends!

Meet Richard as you discover if Panama is

right for you with “a boots on the ground” 6

days, 5 nights ALL INCLUSIVE Relocation &

Retirement tour. One flat fee includes all

ground transportation, in-country flights,

lodging, and meals.

Check out the video below

Capture the Natural Beauty! - Boquete Photo Club

By Manzar LariPanama is known for its bio-diversity, natural

beauty, “happy” people and of course the Panama

Canal, among other things! Why not capture these

moments and make them immortal for others to

enjoy for years to come? The photography group

(called Boquete Photo Club) is doing just that!

We recently met up with Robert, a soft spoken,

genuinely nice and caring individual. Photography

is his passion and it is quite evident as soon as you

meet him. Robert was introduced to us through a

mutual friend and we at Casa de Montaña are so

glad we met him. Here is what we found out about

Robert:

Robert Brauns grew up and spent the majority of

his life in the scenic northeastern United States.

His appreciation and love of the outdoors,

including sports fishing and skiing, led to his desire

to capture all the natural beauty surrounding him

We have some great pieces of photo art displayed at

Casa de Montaña art gallery on the second floor. This

art work is reasonably priced and depicts candid

shots of local “happy” people and nature photos

which are stunning and colorful. Stop by and view

(and purchase?) these works of art as well as get a

tour of our Bed & Breakfast any time!

Phone: 507-6251-9961

email boquetefotos@gmail.com

on film. Retirement from a busy and rewarding career in the late 1990s, and a subsequent

move to Nicaragua and then to Panama, provided the incentive and time for him to

become more involved in his photographic endeavors. Living in the beautiful surroundings

of Chiriqui Province in the diverse country of Panama has inspired his photographic work.

In recent years, Robert has been enjoying capturing the incredibly varied bird life, the

fascinating colors and textures of the local flora and fauna, and especially the vibrant life

surrounding all the local festivals. Recent work of Robert Brauns can be viewed by

requesting current web-links.

Upcoming

Events

November

December

Did you know…?

Mother’s day is celebrated in December and

is a very important holiday in Panama?

We now have gathered together all the

contacts that you would need for relocation

services to Boquete Panama?

We can save you time by assisting you with

setting up your tours and trips?

All this available at:

November 3rd

Independence of Panama from Colombia

November 4th Flag Day

November 28th

Panama Independence from Spain

December 8th

Mother’s Day

Upcoming events 2015:

Boquete coffee and flower fair (Second week of January)

Boquete Jazz Festival (First week of February)

December 25th Christmas

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