Farmers in the southern provinces of the Dominican Republic called upon the government to reopen, remodel, and reinforce the Agricultural Research Centers (Centros de Investigación Agropecuaria) around the country that traditionally had offered a range of agricultural support to farmers, including high-quality, certified seeds. The call was issued by the Movimiento Campesino Dominicano (MCD) that gathers farmers operating small farms during their regional meeting held in the town of Elias Piña as part of the celebration of the National Farmers Day. More than a thousand farmers from 10 southern provinces attended the meeting.
Mario Ogando, spokesman for the group, in addition for appealing for the reopening of the research centers, said that the situation of the small farmers was going from bad to worse because of the difficulty in dealing with a high production costs. Ogando called on the government to provide housing in the countryside so that farmers could live with certain dignity and not be forced to migrate to the largest cities.
Martin Nivar, the MCD president, called on the government to halt the import of farm products during harvest time. He also stressed that his movement was against the exploitation of the gold mine in San Juan de la Maguana.
Adriano Sanchez Roa, the senator for Elias Piña, explained to the audience many details about the General Law of the Farm Sector and Rural Development that he has submitted to the Senate.
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El Nacional
10 May 2018
