The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, May 5, 2004

CRY for attention: Udilio Ulate hopes his hunger strike will pressure the Costa Rican government to pay him his due after working for years with the pesticide Nemagon on banana plantations. Ulate and hundreds of other banana workers from throughout the country last night began protesting – some by declaring a hunger strike – in front of the National Theater, the National Insurance Institute and the Ombudsmen’s Office in San José. They said that for more than a year the government has owed them compensation payments for Nemagon-related health problems, including sterilization, cancer and death among the thousands of workers.
Tico Times/Jeffrey Arguedas

April Inflation
Registers at 0.91%
Fueled by higher housing, transportation and health-care costs, Costa Rica registered a monthly inflation of 0.91% in April.
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May 5

Trova Concert
Concert performed by Allan Guzmán, at Balbek Restaurant, San Rafael, above Heredia. Info: 267-6683, 267-6684.

Bull Fights Fiesta
Fiesta includes typical dances and food, at the Hotel and Villas Cala Luna, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. Info: 653-0214, ext 130.

Guitar Concert
Tickets are on sale for the Strunz & Farah concert. Acclaimed guitarists will perform at 8 p.m., Sat. May 8, at Melico Salazar Theater in San José. Tickets for sale at the theater box office and at Más x Menos Supermarkets (Escazú, Sabana, Novacentro, Cuesta de Moras y La Granja). Info: 800-627-9627.

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Beware of Locusts,
Agriculture Ministry Warns

Plant and animal health experts from the Agriculture Ministry (MAG) are asking farmers throughout the country to inform them if they spot any flying locusts.

If steps to stop this pest aren’t taken in time, an epidemic could result, according to a statement released by the ministry. Officials are trying to locate locust populations and exterminate them before they have a chance to mate and spread.

According to Luis Alfredo Montes, manager of the ministry’s Pest Control and Vigilance Department, locusts can travel for several kilometers. For that reason, it is important to eliminate them before they are able to spread.

Locusts have been found in the northwestern province of Guanacaste in Liberia, Santa Cruz and Bagaces. They have also been spotted in areas close to Santa Rosa and Palo Verde national parks.

Montes said he suspects the locusts live within the national parks and have begun moving to local farms to feast on crops. The locusts pose a particularly large threat this time of year, because many crops are nearing their annual harvest.

To combat the locusts, agriculture officials will inspect area farms. If locusts are found, officials will remain at the farm until sunset. Flying locusts are “thermo active,” meaning they require the sun’s rays to be able to fly. At night, locusts remain still and are easily killed using pesticides.

If the locust colonies become very large, farms will be fumigated using airplanes, the ministry statement said.

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Water Experts: Central America
Must Invest in Irrigation

Increased investment in irrigation is necessary to feed the world’s populations, Global Water Partnership president Margaret Catley-Carlson told a conference this week at the Radisson Hotel in San José.

More than 100 people from around the world participated in the conference, hosted by Costa Rica’s Center for Tropical Agriculture Research and Learning (CATIE).

Population growth and increased water demand has caused the quantity and availability of water to decline, threatening the region’s future cultivation capabilities and putting pressure on the resource, according to CATIE Director Pedro Ferreira.

For example, 70% of Central America’s population lives in the Pacific zone, but only 30% of superficial waters flow through this area, Ferreira said at the conference, which ends today.

Food quantity and quality worldwide depends on new irrigation systems, Catley-Carlson said. Currently 17% of agriculture uses irrigation systems and produces 40% of the world’s food.

Public financing and government support is fundamental in increasing irrigation, Catley-Carlson added. The water partnership is working to improve organization of institutions around the world that work in the theme of water. She said she hopes to create international policies to regulate the use of water.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

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April Inflation
Registers at 0.91%

Fueled by higher housing, transportation and health-care costs, Costa Rica registered a monthly inflation of 0.91% in April.

Inflation for the first four months of the year was 4.44%, the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC) reported yesterday.

Inflation for the first three months of 2003 was 3.11%. Inflation over the last 12 months was reported at 11.29%.

April’s inflation numbers mark an increase compared to March, when inflation registered at 0.46%. However, it is still lower than the inflation rates reported during the five-month period between October 2003 and February of this year, when the Consumer Price Index grew by more than 1% each month.

The Central Bank has set its 2004 target inflation at less than 9% (TT, March 26). Annual inflation in 2003 was 9.87%.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005