The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, February 11, 2004

STILL protesting: Hundreds of taxi drivers from all over the country blocked the road in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works in San José today in continued protests against unlicensed "pirate" cab drivers. The latest protest began in San José yesterday (TT Daily Page, Feb 10).
Tico Times / Jeffrey Arguedas

Government Promises to Make
Small Farmers More Competitive
Agriculture Minister Rodolfo Coto yesterday unveiled a new government strategy aimed at helping the country's small and medium farmers become more competitive.
(Click for more)

U.S. Ambassador Danilovich
Nominated for Brazilian Post
U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica John Danilovich to be ambassador of Brazil, the U.S. Embassy announced yesterday. The U.S. Senate still must approve the nomination.
(Click for more)

Three Colombians Arrested
During Maritime Drug Bust
Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) and members of the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday arrested three Colombians and seized more than 300 kilograms of cocaine in Costa Rican waters, Public Security Ministry officials announced yesterday.
(Click for more)

February 11

Women's Club Neighborhood Tea
Members from Rohrmoser, Pavas, Sabana, and La Uruca are invited to meet at 2:30 p.m. Info: Anne 267-7042.

Fiesta at Restaurant
Baalbek Mediterranean Restaurant offers Tapas, wine and Trova music tonight. Tomorrow, guests can enjoy a romantic night with Bolero music. Friday, the restaurant will host an anniversary fiesta, with dancing, cake, champagne and other surprises. For Valentine's Day, couples are welcome to celebrate with a special menu, live music and a belly dancing show. Baalbek is located in Los Angeles de San Rafael de Heredia, north of San José. Info: 222-2126.

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Government Promises to Make
Small Farmers More Competitive
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Agriculture Minister Rodolfo Coto yesterday unveiled a new government strategy aimed at helping the country's small and medium farmers become more competitive.

The government hopes to prepare farmers for new challenges and opportunities that could arise as a result of the upcoming Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States, he said.

If CAFTA is approved, U.S. exports of all agricultural products except potatoes and onions will eventually be allowed to enter the country without paying tariffs. The liberalization periods for reducing import taxes on agricultural staples (rice, basic grains, dairy and meats) range from 15 to 20 years (TT, Jan. 30).

The government's new competitiveness strategy aims to ensure small Costa Rican producers survive the expected influx of U.S. agricultural imports, many of which are subsidized, under CAFTA, Coto said.

"Once the free-trade agreement goes into effect, tariffs on the majority of agricultural goods will drop," Coto explained during Tuesday's weekly cabinet meeting. "We have many years to go before the tariffs are lowered. However, we must begin to prepare the sectors that will be affected as soon as possible, especially in the case of small producers dedicated to growing sensitive agricultural staples. As the government, it is our responsibility to act."

The centerpiece of the Agriculture Ministry's strategy is a plan to strengthen the National Agricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Institute (INTA).

Founded in 2001, the institute's goal is to contribute to the improvement and sustainability of the agricultural sector through the creation, innovation and sharing of technology. The institution's main function is to conduct research on agricultural advances that could benefit Costa Rican society.

INTA's board of directors includes representatives of the Agriculture Ministry, small agricultural producers, agro-industrial companies and scientists specialized in agriculture.

Its programs focus on making the most out of available human, financial and environmental resources, conservation of land and water resources, promoting the transfer of new production technologies and developing marketing strategies for agricultural products. INTA is in the process of creating a nationwide system of quality certification labs for agricultural products.

INTA works with the National Union of Small and Medium Costa Rican Farmers (UPANACIONAL), Mesa Campesina, Chamber of Root and Tuber Growers, the National Horticulture Corporation, the National Rice Growers Corporation and the National Bean Growers Corporation.

"INTA is currently working on 16 projects that respond to the needs of the country's agriculture sector," said INTA director Alexis Vásquez. "We are working alongside producers to create a strong and solid agriculture sector that can take advantage of the opportunities globalization and the free-trade agreement will create."

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U.S. Ambassador Danilovich
Nominated for Brazilian Post
By Rebecca Kimitch
rkimitch@ticotimes.net

U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica John Danilovich to be ambassador of Brazil, the U.S. Embassy announced yesterday. The U.S. Senate still must approve the nomination.

Danilovich has served as ambassador to Costa Rica since October 2001.
There is no indication when the Senate might approve Bush's nomination, said Embassy spokeswoman Marcia Bosshardt. Nor is there any indication of when a new ambassador to Costa Rica might be named, she added.

Before coming to Costa Rica, Danilovich was a member of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Commission. He was chairman of the Transition Committee before the transfer of the canal from United States to Panamanian control in 1999.

Danilovich has a background in business and foreign affairs. He graduated from Stanford University and received a master's degree in international relations from the University of Southern California in London. He was chairman of Americans Abroad for President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush.

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Three Colombians Arrested
During Maritime Drug Bust

Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) and members of the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday arrested three Colombians and seized more than 300 kilograms of cocaine in Costa Rican waters, Public Security Ministry officials announced yesterday.

The operation began at about 7 a.m. Monday when a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter patrol spotted five suspects in a speedboat dumping about 40 packets of cocaine overboard, about 60 nautical miles off the coast of the western province of Puntarenas.

U.S. officials immediately notified Costa Rican authorities, who coordinated a dispatch of four aircraft and two patrol boats from the Costa Rican Coast Guard, as well as other police officers. The suspects were tracked heading toward the southwest tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, where a large police contingent awaited them, authorities said.

A 26-year-old man identified by the last name Mosquera was captured almost immediately after landing in Malpaís de Cóbano, and a 45-year-old man with the last name of Montaño was captured in a nearby forest soon afterward.

Later that afternoon, a 28-year-old with the last name of Mosquera was arrested after stopping by a house in Malpaís to ask for water. The residents of the home alerted police, officials said.

Police also found a Colombian passport discarded on the beach, which they believe belongs to a fourth member of the crew, a man with the last name of Torres. Police say they believe he dropped the passport while fleeing authorities.

Police told The Tico Times yesterday that Torres and the fifth crewmember remain at large.

The bust is the first in the area since the opening of a new Costa Rican Coast Guard station in Quepos, on the central Pacific coast.

The new station, in operation since last Friday, touts an improved communication network and space for 24 personnel and two speedboats. Authorities say the station is a major improvement from the older Coast Guard station in the area, a wooden building that was in service since 1994.

The United States donated the $400,000 necessary to build the station.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005