The World Bank has set out to establish the fact that it is the Dominican private sector, the theoretical prime leader for making local agriculture more competitive that will most benefit from the effects of the DR-CAFTA. In a recent report titled “The Implications of the FTA with the USA Regarding Agriculture”, the WB warned of the risk of lobbies, bureaucratic inertia, and political conflicts that could put the brakes on needed reforms that would help investments in the sector. “If this were to occur”, says the report, “this would erode the opportunity that the FTA offers and will favor the concentration of benefits toward those few producers that from the start are better positioned to face external competition and who can take advantage of selective policies of support.”
The World Bank is looking at non-traditional exports as the key elements for benefits: avocados, tomatoes, mangos and bananas. The WB even suggest that government support for non-competitive products such as rice and beans be reduced in favor of other, potentially more lucrative products such as “fruits, high value vegetables and some animal products.”