On February 3, 2023, AGEXPORT, through the Pro-Resilience program, financed by the European Union (EU), in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), carried out the first tepin chilli exchange tour with 22 producers /as beneficiaries of the program in the departments of Chiquimula and Izabal, to be able to know and expand their knowledge regarding the management of this crop.
The tour began in the Sabana Grande community, in the municipality of Chiquimula, Chiquimula. Where the 22 producers attended, together with three AGEXPORT field specialists, a Tabasco pepper production area of approximately 10 blocks, which is exported to the United States and Mexico.
The Tabasco pepper producers opened the doors to be able to talk with the beneficiaries of the program in order to be able to share experiences on crop management, propagation system, pest control, and diseases. Issues that caught the attention of the producers and generated different questions that were clarified as the visit progressed.
During the circuit, different producers expressed being impressed with everything that could be done with the Tabasco pepper product and called attention to be able to replicate good practices to their tepin chilli crops. In this way, the first activity of the exchange tour was completed, and they moved to Morales, Izabal, where the next visit was made.
The next day, in Los Andes, they visited a production area of three different types of chilies: Criollo tepin, Mexican tepin and Serrano. For the producers of the program, it was even more striking, since two of these chili peppers are present in their crops.
The producers of Los Andes welcomed and talked with the beneficiaries about the distancing that must be worked, agronomic management, nutrition and what the market for the sale of the different chili peppers is like. The small producers with notebook in hand wrote all the recommendations and took the opportunity to clarify the doubts.
Finally, the beneficiaries were able to observe the right way to make a tepin chilli seedbed and the area producers showed them the bare root plants.
In this way, the tepin chili exchange tour was concluded, each one of the small producers of the Pro-Resilience program returned to their homes full of new knowledge and good expectations to improve the quality of their crops.
“The objective of the exchange tour is to show farmers new alternatives for cultivation processes, agronomic management, and the market, so that they can identify good practices in their plantations and, of course, implement them in the short term. The tepin chilli has been one of the most prioritized products of the Pro-Resilience Program due to the high market demand and the ease of associating it with native crops from the dry corridor region of Guatemala.It is expected to increase production in 2023 to have an acceptable offer for the national market and in the long term internationally, thereby benefiting families in the area, which seek to increase their income to improve their quality of life”. Mentioned Vivian Palacios, boss of the Pro-Resilience/AGEXPORT program.
