President Luis Abinader attended the closing of the 23rd Encounter of Farm Sector Leaders on Friday, 9 September 2022. The three-day Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD) event took place at the Meliá Caribe in Punta Cana. He reiterated his support to national production to guarantee food security in the country.
This 2022, around 500 representatives from the sector gathered for the conference titled, “Taking Back the Future: Innovation and Sustainable Production for Food Security.”
The speakers addressed the impact of innovation on the Dominican economy and global agriculture, the impact of innovation on sustainable food production and climate-smart agriculture, and trends in sustainable agriculture in practice.
International speakers presented new farm technologies for agricultural mechanization and process automation.
There were talks and calls for training of producers and good practices that promote the preservation of the environment, support for rural women and young people, the approval of the Land Management Law, as well as the Water Law and the legal reform of the institutional framework of the agricultural sector.
The event served as a platform for those in farming activities to meet and learn what is new in the world in farming. The weight of middle entities in the food chain and the lack of generational change are still unmet challenges highlighted at the encounter. There was a call for the approval of the Land Management and the Water bills that have stagnated for years in Congress. The speakers called for the reform to the institutional framework of the agricultural sector.
At the event, President Luis Abinader announced the government would be sending to Congress for approval a US$120 million loan with the InterAmerican Development Bank to be used to purchase new technologies for farmers. “This has been a time where the ability to work together, the public sector and the private sector, to overcome obstacles, no matter how big they may be, has been put to the test,” said President Luis Abinader.
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Presidency
12 September 2022