The Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD) together with the Ministry of Economy, and the United States Department of Agriculture have put together a Program to Strengthen Operational and Analytical Capacities of the Program of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This innovative program will consist of 15 nationwide sessions to train technicians and professionals in the integrated management of pests and ensure food safety and quality, aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable exports.
Osmar Benitez, the executive president of the JAD, said that this is an essential step to ensure food safety and quality assurance for Dominican fruits and vegetable exports. He told reporters from the Diario Libre that “the markets are getting stricter on the control of insects and other food safety issues in export products, including pesticide residues, and for this reason we have to be aware of the importance to offer training to our exporters on these issues.
In 2015, the agricultural GDP was some RD$165 billion, representing 5.4% of the total GDP. The sector employs nearly 600,000 persons. Farm exports produced more than US $750 million between local exporters and the free zones. This represented 7.9% of the total DR exports.
Among the main farm exports are bananas and cacao with the Dominican Republic being a leader in the export of these products.
Exports of products manufactured from agricultural product represent US$1.7 billion, more than 18% of total exports.
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Diario Libre
24 August 2017
