Jennifer McLean, September 1998
After spending over a month in Peru, it was time to say goodbye to the Amazon, the Andes, and the �beast� called Lima for new adventures in Panama. I experienced considerable scenic shock and even some homesickness upon leaving grey and grimy Lima to arrive the same day in the sunshine and lush green of Panama City. I was surprised to find Panama relatively unspoiled and uncrowded for such a small country - an area smaller than Florida. Along the principal east-west highway, the Panamaerican, there is much large-scale agriculture but not the industrial and urban blight I expected from my first look at this route on the map. A comfortable and only slightly scary bus ride from the capital to the westernmost province of Chiriqui is only 6 or so hours. Another hour straight north and uphill takes you from the sweltering city of David - where even Panamanians complain about the heat - to the highland town of Boquete, hidden in low-hanging rainclouds half the day this time of year and chilly enough for a sweater at night.
In addition to the obvious and striking cultural and historical differences between Peru and Panama, there are some important differences in the coffee sectors of the two countries. While Panama, like Peru, is a small producer and lacks a national coffee campaign there is a decent national market for Panamanian coffee. I did not see the little syrup bottles in Panamanian restaurants but coffee served as we would normally expect. The taste for Colombian coffee seems to have rubbed off but I also saw the large Panamanian coffee buyers, Duran and Sitton, for example, advertised everywhere. As well, the Panamanians have the advantage of peace and prosperity lacking in Peru, where coffee growers still plan their daily lives around the possibility of kidnapping and other terrorist activities. On the whole, the atmosphere in Chiriqui seemed much more relaxed and open, whereas Villa Rica definitely had a �frontier town� feel to it.
However, despite these differences, I found that the principal coffee towns, Villa Rica in Peru and Boquete in Panama, have a lot in common. Both towns were founded in the early part of the century by European immigrants with some capital. These same families are prominent today in coffee, although in the case of Boquete there are several new entrants with large holdings. In both places, migrant, indigenous labourers are required from outside the area. The coffee is mainly shade-grown, perhaps because of the steep slopes that prevent more intense cultivation but also because of the stewardship in the attitudes of the growers I met. Both areas host birdwatchers and ornithological researchers.
It is perhaps because both Peru and Panama are such small producers that the coffee growers in both countries have abandoned hope for a national marketing program and instead are carving out a niche for themselves in the specialty coffee market. One way of doing this is advertising the regional quality of the coffee. Just as "Cafe de Chanchamayo" is the coffee of Peru so "Cafe de Chiriqui" or "Cafe Boquete" is synonymous with Panamanian coffee, and indeed, 85% of the national harvest is from Chiriqui. I spoke with a well -known grower, Francisco (Pachi) Serracin, about the Panamanian economy, the relationship between Ciriqui and the capital, and what changes coffee growers would like to see. The reasons for Panama�s "under-development" of export agriculture could not easily be pinned down. (In my own opinion, the fact that Panama is the only Central American country that is not dependent on exports is a good thing) What it comes down to for coffee is, in the words of Don Pachi, "We produce little coffee but very good coffee. We don�t need to win the whole market, just one small part of it." In fact, in his opinion, a government coffee program is not desirable, although several agencies could do small things to help make visitors, for example, aware of coffee in Panama.
I learned from my visit to Boquete that cooperatives and professional associations are not necessarily in separate camps economically and politically. The local co-op is open to anyone, although, as is the case in La Merced, the members tend to be the smaller producers . The Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), headquarted in Boquete, is open to anyone who pays the membership fee. It includes individuals holding mid- and large-sized fincas, one of the largest coffee poolers in the country, as well as the smallest producers, represented by the co-op. The SCAP demonstrates the cooperation of growers, millers, and brokers in promoting regional coffee.
However, there remains one clear class division that is obvious in both Panama and Peru. For the most part, the finca owners are recent descendants of immigrants and the coffee pickers are the landless indigenous people. These migrant workers are only needed on the farm at the time of harvest, 3 or 4 months of the year. Thus, coffee presents us with a paradox. It cannot be denied that without a large, landless class of workers the coffee growers would be out of business. At the same time, it cannot be ignored that without this critical income the coffee workers would be much worse off.
An individual grower cannot change the system single-handedly and hope to remain in business; however an individual can have an enormous impact on the lives of many of these people. For example, Price Peterson of Boquete, whose farm I visited, is undoubtedly interested in the welfare of his hires and works hard to give them living accommodations that in many cases are better than their own homes. The Petersons see that payment is fair, the families have medical attention, and the small children are properly fed and supervised. Their personal attention and innovative approaches to farming have earned the Finca Esmeralda the ECO-OK certification, a set of standards that include social as well as ecological criteria.
On a larger scale, the relationship of agriculture and the migrant work force is complex. Based on my brief visits, it would be impossible to assess individual fincas let alone the "web of causality" (1) that reaches well beyond borders.
Peru...Panama...Where to next? Following rules of alliteration I should then visit the coffee farms of Puerto Rico, but instead fate and thrift sent me down the road, across the border into Costa Rica...
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