The Sustainable and Inclusive Agricultural Innovation Project (PIASI) has been halted, and producers are demanding explanations. Ada Pinzón, president of the National Committee for Family Agriculture Dialogue (CONADAF) in West Panama, stated, "We want an answer," adding that small-scale producers need to know if the suspension of PIASI was due to a decision by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) or the Government of Panama. She also mentioned that the latest BID report, published in September 2025, indicated that $3,367,698 had been disbursed, equivalent to 8.21%. In a letter sent to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), CONADAF stated that it has no knowledge of whether Panama had made its corresponding contribution. Pinzón reported that, via email, the BID communicated that "on our side, we are waiting for the Panamanian authorities to officially inform us of their decisions" regarding PIASI. Various groups of agricultural producers are still hopeful about the resumption of the project, designed to improve food security for humble family farmers. Financially, PIASI operates with a loan of $46,601,560 from the Inter-American Development Bank, plus $5,601,560 from the Panamanian counterpart. Last February, Ada Pinzón denounced that the project had been inexplicably suspended. Pinzón brought up the issue again after a month had passed without receiving a response to a note sent to the Minister of Agricultural Development, Roberto Linares, in which she expressed her concern about the future of the PIASI program.
