Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology

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3 Vanilla Production in Costa Rica

Elida Varela Quirós

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Costa Rica, a country located in Central America, was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502 during his fourth trip. As a result of the conquest by a European country, the culture of Costa Rica is strongly influenced by Spain. Currently, less than 1% of the total population of over 4 million belongs to indigenous tribes. Costa Rica is considered one of the most stable nations in Latin America since its army was abolished in 1949. The current president Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize Award in 1987 for his support of the Central American peace process. The education is free and obligatory. The official religion is Catholicism; however, there is total freedom of religion. The official language is Spanish and the national currency is the colon. The national flower is the purple orchid (Guarianthe skinneri). Costa Rica is divided into 7 Provinces: San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica), Heredia (flowering province), Cartago (the vegetables province), LimtSn (the Caribbean province), Puntarenas (the Pacific province), Guanacaste (the dry province) and Alajuela (the Mangos province). Costa Rica is divided by a rugged highland landscape from south to north, creating an Atlantic and a Pacific zone with different weather conditions. The volcanoes and the beach area along the country’s edge create different climatic zones from one town to another. Costa Rica has two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season occurs from December to June in the Pacific zone and from February to May in the Atlantic zone. This is why it is possible to find cloudy forest, dry forest, and rain forests in Costa Rica. With only 51,100 square kilometers, Costa Rica is one of the countries with the most biodiversity in the world. Costa Rica is a biological bridge of botanical and zoological species, where the North and South American fauna and flora converge. There are more than 10,000 plant species, 800 butterfly species, 500 mammalian species, and 850 bird species in this small country. Costa Rica has protected around 25% of its territory under categories such as national parks, biological reservoirs, and national refuges of wild life.

3.2 HISTORY OF VANILLA PRODUCTION IN COSTA RICA

The first reference to vanilla production in Costa Rica dates from 1987: “In General, there are about 20 hectares of vanilla plantations at different stages in several parts of Costa Rica” (Ocampo 1987). “There were also four vanilla plantations owned by foreign investors,”