President Danilo Medina declared 2020 as the Year of Consolidation of Food Security through Decree 497-19. The Presidency called on public and private institutions to collaborate in the implementation of initiatives and programs that promote food security.
According to Presidency spokesman, Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, rural poverty fell from 50% to 22.6% in the Dominican Republic. He attributed the significant decline to what he described as “the agriculture revolution that President Danilo Medina has carried out in his seven years of government.”
Rodríguez Marchena stressed that the Dominican government has prioritized support to the agricultural sector as a tool to improve the living conditions of rural communities through the Surprise Visits program, the democratization of credit and property, technical assistance, improvement of infrastructure and equipment to strengthen the value chain. “Over the past seven years, the men and women of the countryside have increased their income, while contributing to the availability of quality food at affordable prices in millions of Dominican households,” he said.
Rodríguez Marchena stressed that the Dominican Republic produces 85% of the food it consumes and satisfies 100% of the demand for rice, chicken, eggs, pigeon peas, sweet potatoes, yucca, bananas, bananas, potatoes, yams, squash and peppers.
Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo, who presides the governmental National Council for Food and Nutritional Security (CONASAAN), explained that in 2020 the government will increase funding for the direct and indirect beneficiaries of its various social protection programs, emphasizing family farming.
“One of the innovative measures to achieve these objectives is the implementation of the Inclusive and Resilient Prorural Project, which will provide financial assistance under soft conditions to promote income-generating activities and food and nutritional security for rural families, increasing the resilience and access to markets for products, services and employment of beneficiary families,” he said.
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Presidencia
Presidencia
2 January 2020