The Minister of Agriculture Luis Ramon Rodriguez was proud to announce that the agriculture sector under the Medina administration had a growth of 3.1% of GDP compared to the previous year. He said that greenhouse space had increased by 1.6 million meters.
Speaking in a Presidency press conference yesterday, Monday 13 January, Rodriguez said that the farming sector strategy was part of a comprehensive plan to reduce poverty. He said that at the start of this term of government, statistics showed that 57% of rural inhabitants were poor, compared to 38% in urban areas. The minister said the government’s farm-sector policy is based on four axes: strengthen food security by investing in necessary areas, mitigating poverty, promoting exports, and reforming public farming sector institutions.
Rodriguez reported that exports of non-traditional farm products were up 23% in 2013, compared to 2012. He estimated that farm exports would reach US$1.2 billion, breaking the US$1 billion mark for the first time.
http://hoy.com.do/ministro-de-agricultura-sector-agropecuario-crecio-3-1-del-pib-en-relacion-al-2012/