The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), in alliance with the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Authority (AMPYME) and the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), held an event on agrotourism at the Art and Culture Center in the city of Colón. The event was aimed at producers interested in diversifying their income through agrotourism, with 15 farms in Colón participating, including certified, registered, and promoted units. Among the topics discussed were social media management, organizing tour activities, and aspects of formalizing businesses. The event sought to promote agrotourism as an alternative for the region's economic development. For Jairo Santamaría, representative of the Río Piedra Farm, located in Costa Arriba de Colón, he said they are dedicated to environmental sustainability, producing exotic fruits, poultry, and livestock. He added that they were interested in marketing topics to reach a target audience and get more visitors. Aime de Arias, general coordinator of Ampyme/Entrepreneurship Promotion, stated that this joint activity aimed to identify the needs of agrotourism farms, conduct a diagnosis to offer them the products and support they need. Meanwhile, Carmen Salabarría, regional coordinator of Agrotourism for MIDA/Colón, noted that they are in charge of certifying agrotourism farms, collaborating throughout the process to achieve their certification, and can organize tourist visits to learn about the activities developed on a farm. In turn, Keila Jackson, regional administrator of the Tourism Authority of Colón, indicated that they seek to strengthen the tourism sector in the region and detect doubts or weaknesses so that they can be strengthened as agrotourism farms, in addition to coordinating with other tour operators and hotels.
