The government has given approval to granting farmers a subsidy of $0.10 per liter of milk produced, until December 2016.

The grant was approved by the Cabinet at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, for dairy farmers who days ago cited profitability problems, now compounded by the effects of drought.

“… This measure was taken by the Government after farmers nationwide requested the subsidy in a past meeting in Los Santos and the minister of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), Jorge Arango, promised to get this support so they could overcome the crisis. ”

Panamaamerica.com.pa reports that “… Carlos Fernandez, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (CCIYAP), said that employers continue to oppose the measure, as they consider it counter productive and said that if there were a free market, prices tend to be regulated in a better way through brand competition.”

“… According to Eric Corro, from the National Cattlemen’s Association (Anagan) in Herrera, because larger processors are not buying Grade C milk, producers have been forced to offer their product to artisanal cheese factories. “