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Panama Land Use
Panama's land area totals approximately 7.7 million hectares,
of which forests account for 4.1 million hectares, followed by
pasture land (1.2 million hectares), and permanently cultivated
fields (582,000 hectares). About 2 percent of the land was used for
roads and urban areas. Nearly all of the cultivated and pasture
land was originally forested. A large amount of virgin land has
been opened up for cultivation by the Pan-American Highway.
Panama's climate and geology impose major constraints on the
development of agriculture. Heavy rainfall throughout the year
prevents cultivation of most crops on the Atlantic side of the
continental divide
(see Regions of Settlement
, ch. 2). The Pacific
side has a dry season (December to April) and accounts for most of
the cultivated land
(see
fig. 9). The mountainous terrain also
restricts cropping. In addition, the country does not have highquality soils. Most of the areas classified as cultivable are so
considered on the assumption that farmers will practice
conservation measures, but many do not. The topsoil is thin in most
areas, and erosion is a serious problem. Most of the nearly level
areas conducive to cultivation are in the provinces of Los Santos,
Coclé, Veraguas, and Chiriquí.
A further constraint on production is the practice of
slash-and-burn cultivation, in which trees, brush, and weeds are
cut and then burned on the patch of ground selected for
cultivation. Indians utilized the slash-and-burn method for
centuries, and the Spanish made few changes in techniques. In the
1980s, most farmers practiced a slash-and-burn type of shifting
cultivation. The thin and poor-quality topsoil yielded an initially
good harvest, followed by a smaller harvest the second year.
Typically, the land was cultivated for only two years, and then the
farmer repeated the process on another plot, allowing the first
plot to rest ten years before refarming.
Much of the farming was of a subsistence nature and
accomplished with a minimum of equipment. Plowing was generally not
practiced on subsistence farms; the seeds were placed in holes made
by a stick. Tree cutting, land clearing, weeding, and harvesting
were accomplished with a few kinds of knives, principally the
machete and the axe, which comprised the major farm implements.
Data as of December 1987
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