Over the weekend President Danilo Medina paid his customary surprise visit to yam and passion fruit farmers in Samana, in the northeast of the country on Sunday 9 June, and said that this Wednesday, 12 June, a government commission would confirm how much money was needed to increase production.
He said that the loan would be made at very attractive rates of 5%, as he wanted them to make progress, as if they did, then so did the country.
The commission will be made up of the director of the Special Fund for Agriculture Development (FEDA), the director of the Biotechnology Innovation Institute (IIBI), the director of the Dominican Republic Center for Exports and Investment (CEI-RD) and the director of the Agrarian Bank.
The yam growers need money to clear and fertilize their land whilst the passion fruit farmers want to market and industrialize the production of their crop.