Rainfall along the Pacific coast has gradually returned to normal levels following last year's decrease in rainfall of up to 65 percent in Guanacaste and 30 percent in Puntarenas.
Scientists are now a little closer to uncovering the cause of a chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemic that has killed more than 20,000 people in Central America in the last two decades. For years, the cause of the disease -- which primarily afflicts young male agricultural workers -- has stumped doctors. But a new study from the Boston University School of Public Health found that sugarcane fieldwork could play a role.
After 13 years, Costa Rica finally has a regulation guaranteeing payment of physical and psychological damages for nearly 14,000 banana workers who were exposed to the banned pesticide Nemagon.
The supermarket chain’s new "Responsibly Grown" produce rating system was launched earlier in October and divides fruits, flowers and vegetables into three categories: Good, Better and Best, based on suppliers’ farming practices.
Edgardo Araya, a legislator for the Broad Front Party from Alajuela, and a number of community representatives from pineapple-producing zones, on Monday urged the executive branch to pass a decree that would place a moratorium on pineapple production for five years. They argued that pineapple producers have not been held accountable for the environmental impact of their activities.
Costa Rica has agreed to pay the medical bills and other compensation for some 12,000 banana workers and their relatives suffering lingering effects of exposure to pesticides in the 1960s and '70s.
According to a new study published in the magazine Science Friday, forest-dwelling birds in Costa Rica, like the Trogon or Resplendent Quetzal, are especially struggling to adapt to areas converted into intense monocultures, like sugarcane or pineapple plantations.
As of Aug. 20, all tomato shipments arriving in the United States must comply with new requirements to prevent the spread of a plague known as the tomato moth.
