The Ambassador of Italy to El Salvador, Paolo Emanuele Rozo Sordini, the Vice-President of the Republic of El Salvador, Félix Ulloa, and the Presidential designate of Honduras, Doris Gutiérrez, officially inaugurated a modern soil and water testing laboratory at the Innovatec-Sistagro Agricultural Research Centre in Metapán, El Salvador.
The laboratory will provide specialised soil and water physico-chemical analysis services, generating crucial information for the application of good agricultural practices and strengthening the technical capacities of some 1,950 farmers in the Trifinio region (a territory shared between El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras). The opening of the laboratory is one of the important achievements of the 'Trifinio in' project, financed by the Italian government, through the Italian Embassy in San Salvador and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), to the tune of €950,000 and executed by the International Organisation Italo-Latin American Institute (Iila), in coordination with Plan Trifinio, a regional body that promotes environmental and land management to improve the living conditions of border communities. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the laboratory will enable farmers to obtain precise data on chemical and physical soil fertility. These tools will help to optimise fertiliser use, prevent degradation and promote sustainable farming practices for more profitable and environmentally friendly production.
"With this facility, the agricultural sector of the Trifinio Region takes a significant step towards modernisation. The expected results include strengthening the competitiveness of local producers, the sustainability of crops, and improving the well-being of rural communities,' said the Italian Ambassador to El Salvador, Paolo Emanuele Rozo Sordini.
The event was attended by numerous other authorities, including the director of the AICS office in San Salvador, Paolo Gallizioli, the director of the Salvadoran Agency for International Cooperation (Esco), Karla de Palma, the mayor of Santa Ana Norte, Carlos Landaverde, the executive secretary of Plan Trifinio, Liseth Hernández, with members of the trinational secretariat, the director of the Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Edgar Palacios, along with some 450 people and 40 organisations from the region. The event concluded with a fair where local farmers and entrepreneurs presented and sold their products.
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