A. M. 
El Salvador is moving towards a more modern and inclusive agriculture, with support from the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in coordination with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Government of El Salvador.
Through a new agricultural extension model, technical support will be provided to 150,000 farmers, facilitating access to better information and new digital tools, and significantly expanding the coverage of extension services in the country.
This initiative is being promoted through the MERIAN project, implemented by the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG), with funding from the European Union and implementation by the FAO, in coordination with the ITU. The project aims to modernize the way the State supports farming families, strengthening research, agricultural education, and the use of digital technologies.
The European Union Ambassador to El Salvador, Duccio Bandini, emphasized, “This project reflects the best of the cooperation between the European Union and El Salvador: a commitment to modernizing the agricultural sector through innovation, to bringing knowledge closer to those who produce the country’s food and generating concrete benefits for communities, especially for young people and women, and for a shared vision of a greener, more digital, and fairer future, where the green and digital transitions reduce gaps and leave no one behind”.
As part of this transformation, the agricultural extension model of the Centro Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria y Forestal “Enrique Álvarez Córdova” (CENTA), will be modernized, combining in-person services with digital platforms and remote assistance. Likewise, the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (ENA) will update its training programs, incorporating new technologies and an innovative approach that seeks to make agriculture more attractive, efficient, and sustainable, especially for new generations.
To achieve this, the capacities of technicians, teachers, and students will be strengthened. They will receive training in the use of digital technologies applied to agriculture, such as smart tools, drones, and innovative solutions that are already transforming agriculture worldwide.
The project has an investment of €5 million (more than US$5.7 million) from the European Union, as well as $230,000 from the FAO, within the framework of the European Union’s Global Gateway investment strategy, which promotes sustainable development, innovation, and education.
The Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Óscar Domínguez, explained that the implementation of MERIAN represents progress toward a more robust system that incorporates digital platforms and applications with specialized technical information for the agricultural and livestock sectors, allowing for broader coverage and improved quality of technical support.
The project also includes the creation of a national Contact Center, which will function as a direct channel for producers to ask questions about pests, fertilization and other production issues, bringing technical knowledge closer to daily work in the field.
“At FAO, we reaffirm our commitment to the Government of El Salvador to strengthen institutional capacities and advance towards a more modern, competitive, and resilient agriculture. With the support of the European Union, we are assisting the MAG, the CENTA, and the ENA in training researchers, extension agents, teachers, and students, bringing innovation and extension services to more farming families”, said Jorge Samaniego, FAO representative in El Salvador.
This new model will allow for technical guidance to reach more producers, prioritizing sectors such as staple grains, vegetables, fruits, cattle, and small livestock.
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