On Sunday 19 January, President Danilo Medina was in San Jose de las Matas where he delivered a check for RD$15 million to support vegetable farmers in the area. RD$5 million is for working capital and RD$10 million will be used for the completion of a modern farm produce packaging plant. The farmers who received the funding are members of the Mountain Greenhouse Farmers Association (APACOS), in the community of Botoncillos, in San Jose de las Matas.
Whilst in San Jose de las Matas, President Danilo Medina said that 70,000 jobs had been created in the formal sector of which 40,000 were due to the work his government had done supporting the productive sector of the country.
He also announced that work on the controversial Cibao-South road that will cut through national parks located in the Cordillera Central would begin soon. He expects the road to be an important contribution to the development of the area. Former Minister of Environment Frank Moya Pons is one of many who oppose the road saying it will be disastrous for the environment and very costly for the economy. Moya Pons advocates repairing roads connecting the north and the south instead of building a completely new route.
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/danilo-medina-%E2%80%9Cen-2013-se-crearon-m%C3%A1s-de-70-mil-empleos-formales%E2%80%9D
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/productores-de-aj%C3%ADes-y-tomates-de-san-jos%C3%A9-de-las-matas-reciben-rd15-millones
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2014/1/19/307445/Presidente-Medina-otorga-15-millones-de-pesos-a-productores-de-San-Jose-de