The project in figures
1st
Biotechnology laboratory in Panama
7,000 m2
of construction
3
Buildings make up the production center:
3
Research & Development centers:
Panama, France, Belgium
Who are we?
We are a private family foundation involved in reforestation and the production of plants in general since 2013.
We reforest several hundred hectares each year with species native to Panama.
Noting the difficulty of obtaining very high quality plants in large quantities, we decided to create our own production center, GREENLAB BIOTECHNOLOGY.
Our goal is twofold: to meet our own needs for seedlings for reforestation in Panama, but also and especially to meet the needs of new customers. And whatever their multiplication project and their geographical location.
Thanks to a partnership with the prestigious biotechnology laboratory of the University of Ghent in Belgium, GreenLab Biotechnology masters all the techniques and services necessary for the production of plants with high added value, both in vitro and in greenhouses.
The inauguration of the company, as well as the first shipments of plant material will take place in the second quarter of 2020.
Why this new project?
90% of deforestation in Panama is caused by illegal logging. From 2012 to 2019, almost 8,500 hectares per year were deforested.
1947
The forest cover of Panama was 70%.
2012
The country lost 2.1 million hectares of forest. Equivalent to the surface area of the provinces of Panama and Veraguas combined.
6,700
These are the billions of dollars that the Department of Economy of the Ministry of the Environment estimated were the losses generated by this massive deforestation.
It is not too late !
They trust us
Our
Goals
“Our goal is twofold: Fight against deforestation by promoting reforestation (native species supplies at local level, Central America); And respond globally to the diverse needs of major players such as farmers, producers, plants nurseries, laboratories, etc.”
A local actor concerned
Massive deforestation is a plague affecting many Latin American countries, including Panama. Our commitment is to contribute to the reforestation of Panama. The number of native trees planted to date exceeds million and a half.
With GREENLAB BIOTECHNOLGY, we are moving up a gear, since our role is now to provide local reforestation stakeholders with their needs for planting trees. Whether they are independent reforestation projects, or large state projects, we put our experience and know-how at the service of this dynamic.
In addition, in vitro technology, still little used in the reforestation sector, offers a lot of advantages: the trees produced using this technology are more robust, more resistant to diseases, adapt more easily when placed on the ground, but especially, they enjoy a much higher growth rate that can exceed 30% compared to a traditionally produced tree.
Our species catalog for reforestation, when we open, will include the following 10 species, 80% of which are native species:
- Cuban Mahogany (Swietenia mahogany)
- Honduran mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)
- Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata)
- Palisander (Dalbergia retusa)
- Guayacan (Tabebuia guayacan)
- Rosy trumpet tree (Tabebuia rosea)
- Nispero (Manilkara zapota)
- Balsam of Peru (Myroxylon balsamum)
- Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Teck (Tectona Grandis)
A company turned towards the world
Our second commitment, just as important to us as the first, is to provide a viable solution to any type of planting needs, whatever the geographical location. The in vitro culture has among its many advantages the fact of being easy to transport wherever it is because the volumes used are very low.
In addition, the sanitary risks are zero because the plants travel in a sterile environment. We are of course also able to deliver, depending on what the customer wants, plants at other stages of their evolution, as after acclimatization or growth phase.
In other words, GREENLAB BIOTECHNOLOGY is able to deliver the plants you need all over the world: In addition to the forest plants explained in the previous paragraph, they can be food, medicinal, aromatic, ornamental plants or even plants rich in fiber.
Our field of competence is therefore as well for in vitro culture laboratories wishing to subcontract at a lower cost a part of their production, than for producers, farmers, plants nurseries, etc.
High-performance tools for a very high quality result
To carry out its work and fulfill all its commitments, GREENLAB BIOTECHNOLOGY has a range of tools and equipment of very high quality. Among them, the use of computer software management and processing developed by one of the world leaders (German company). Software that guarantees perfect traceability of all the operations we perform.
