USAID-Financed Coffee Laboratory Inagurated
October 23, 2007

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U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Charles L. Glazer and Salvadoran President Antonio Saca inaugurated the laboratory for the production of the fungus Beauveria bassiana at the Salvadoran Foundation for Coffee Research (PROCAFE)’s Technological Center today at Finca San Antonio in Santa Ana.

The facility was built and equipped by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Promoting Economic Opportunities Program with funds in the amount of $259,000.  The laboratory will be used to produce a fungus that is a natural enemy of the coffee borer (Hypotenemus hampei), which causes damage to the beans, decreasing their quality and affecting farmers’ income.  The fungus will be part of an integrated pest management approach that will result in reduced pesticide use and healthier conditions for farm laborers.  

The inauguration ceremony was also presided by USAID Acting Mission Director Larry Brady; Minister of Agriculture Mario Salaverría; Presidential Commissioner for Coffee, José Antonio Salaverría; Presidential Commissioner for Agriculture, Carmen Elena Díaz Bazán de Sol; and PROCAFE’s President, Mario Acosta Oertel.