While we had plenty of veggies, fruit and milk, here in Boquete, Panama City was literally cut off from us during the riots.  That cost our producers and shippers a lot of money.

“The closure the American Highway by the Ngäbes Bugle Indians has caused losses to the agricultural sector estimated at $3.2 million, however, the figure may be higher, said Oscar Osorio, head of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA),” reported Prensa.com.

Vegetable growers and milk producers are experiencing the largest losses from the 8 day closure of the American Highway by the Indians of Chiriqui. In addition, upland farmers’ harvests were spoiled when they became stranded or because of fuel shortages.

“When calculating the losses for agriculture another factor taken into account was the lack of labor for harvesting crops, bearing in mind that 80% of the workers in horticultural production are indigenous. (…) For example, a potato farmer usually employees 92 Indians, during the protests only two went to work,” exemplified the website.