Taiwanese experts successfully revive Panama's national orchid

(CNA) Panama City, Sept. 25. Experts from the Taiwan Technical Mission in Panama have successfully helped the Central American country bring back its endangered orchid species, "the Espiritus Santo, " from the brink of extinction, the mission said Thursday.
At a ceremony held in the western Panama city of Capira, Republic of China (Taiwan) Ambassador to Panama Y.S. Ko presented seedlings of the "the Espiritus Santo, " regarded as Panama's national orchid, to Panamanian Agriculture and Husbandry Development Minister Victor Perez.

One of the mission's experts, Huang Chia-hsiang, said they adopted biotechnologies in cultivating the Espiritus Santo seedlings in greenhouses and are now able to produce 3,000 plants annually, and many seedlings will be planted in Panama's national parks and school campuses.

The Espiritus Santo project was part of a program launched in 2006 to help Panama cultivate orchids. Aside from helping revive the endangered orchid species, the Taiwanese experts also selected phalaenopsis (better known as butterfly orchids) that are suitable for growing in Panama and helped farmers engage in commercial production.

Perez said that as a veteran operator in the agriculture and husbandry industry, he has been deeply impressed by the contributions Taiwan's mission has made to improving the livelihood of Panama's farmers, especially low-income farmers.

After the ceremony, Ko and Perez jointly cut the ribbon to open a fruit packing factory and flower showroom, which were built with financial support from Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund.

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Original Source: http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1066383&lang=eng_news
Date Retrieved: September 26, 2009