90 persons attend pitahaya cultivation virtual training

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Ninety persons from around the country attended the two-day virtual training on pitahaya cultivation and management conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE).

The pitahaya or dragon fruit training which was conducted virtually from Mexico was facilitated by fruit specialist Jeremías Nataren Velázquez from the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Crop, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) and Naimi Jazibi Cárcamo, a pitahaya grower from Chiapas, who shared her experiences in the production of the fruit.

Many of the 90 persons were facilitated by the agriculture stations around the country where farmers gathered to follow the training.

MAFSE said that more training sessions will be offered soon in pitahaya, soursop, and coconut cultivation in collaboration with INIFAP.

The agreement with INIFAP came after a series of high-level negotiations that MAFSE Minister Jose Abelardo Mai conducted with Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture last year. The collaboration with Mexico was heightened after the visit of Prime Minister John Briceño to Mexico in November 2021 and the subsequent visit by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to Belize in May 2022.