One of the least mentioned sectors affected by the passage of the Tropical Storm Franklin is the farm sector. As reported, the heavy rains and floods caused damages to crops such as beans, yucca, and to greenhouses. The combination of rain and a slight breeze seriously affected banana and plantain farms.
As in every case over the past 60 years, the Banco Agricola (Bagricola) is coming to the rescue of the farmers. On Friday, Fernando Duran, the Bagricola administrator, told reporters in Azua that the government had authorized the rescheduling of all of the outstanding debts held by those affected by Franklin. There would be zero interest on those debts, and payments would be spread out over four or five years. He also noted that rapid financing would be available for replanting of the affected lands. He also told reporters that there was RD$59 billion on hand to deal with the recovery of the affected farm production areas.
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El Caribe
28 August 2023