On March 31, the University of Panama inaugurated a Controlled Environment Agriculture Laboratory, located at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. According to university authorities, this space will enhance technical training and promote sustainable production through cutting-edge technologies. The core of the project is its Vertical Agriculture Module, a Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) system that allows for millimeter-precise management of variables such as nutrition, temperature, and humidity. This technology ensures the production of vegetables with high biological purity, free of agrochemicals and with constant harvests 365 days a year. Eduardo Flores Castro, rector of the University of Panama, stated that this is the first laboratory in a network that will be expanded with similar centers in Tocumen, ChiriquÃ, and Guararé. The project is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) in alliance with Senacyt. He also added that the facility will serve for producer training. In turn, Eldis Barnes Molinar, dean of the FCA, emphasized that this infrastructure is vital for students to understand that 'today's agriculture necessarily requires these assets'.
