Project Name：Orchid Industry Development and Tissue Culture Plantlet Propagation Project (Paraguay)

Project status：Completed projects

Cooperating Country：South America, Paraguay

Project Description：The orchid market shows great potential but the orchid industry is beset by low production values, a lack of orchid production and sales systems, a lack of orchid tissue culture techniques. In other words, production capacity in the Paraguayan orchid industry production is insufficient; supply to the market also relies on the smuggling of orchid seedlings or flowering plants. However, the Oncidium and Phalaenopsis industry is unexplored and Paraguayan authorities hope that technical cooperation and the application of Taiwan’s advantages and experiences could help the country’s orchid industry.
The Taiwan Technical Mission will cooperate with the Agricultural Science and Technology Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to assist Paraguay in establishing orchid meristem tissue culture techniques and a stable supply of orchid meristem plantlets, also working with the ministry’s Extension Division to organize production and marketing groups and thereby promote commercial production and improve growers’ cultivation techniques.

Project No：TT-310-2015-014

Implementation Start Date：2015-02-10

Implementation End Date：2018-11-23

Project Objectives：

1. Organize orchid farmers’ production and marketing groups; nurture potential orchid farmers.
2. Introduce Oncidium and Phalaenopsis meristem tissue culture techniques and equipment.
3. Establish marketing mechanisms for Oncidium (cut flowers, potted) and Phalaenopsis (potted).

Executing Agency：

1. Extension Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Paraguay)
2. Marketing Division, Ministry of Agriculture and livestock (Paraguay)
3. Agricultural Science and Technology Research Institute (Paraguay)
4. Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of Paraguay

Project Performance：

1.At the end of the project, the production of Paraguay orchid seedlings increased by 314,000 plants.
2.Project outputs:
(1)Organize orchid farmers' organizations: Counseled 46 core farmers, established three farmers’ organizations; developed a set of management rules for orchid production processes.
(2)Establish Oncidium and Phalaenopsis seedling tissue culture techniques and equipment: Dispatched Taiwanese experts to Paraguay to train IPTA orchid seedling tissue culture technicians; established two sets of orchid meristem culture and breeding specifications; produced Oncidium and 194,000 Phalaenopsis.
(3)Establish the production and sales mechanism of Oncidium (cut flower, potted flower) and Phalaenopsis (potted flower): Built orchid production and display center; renovated Caacupe facility, built two greenhouses for Phalaenopsis planting; produced 70,000 Oncidium cut flowers, produced 153,000 potted Oncidium and 162,000 pots Phalaenopsis.
(4)Use greenhouses to collect and protect native orchid species in Paraguay: Collected and preserved two native orchids from Paraguay and established cultivation and aquaculture practices for local orchids in Paraguay.

Signing Date：2015-02-10

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in the Republic of Paraguay