Hoy newspaper published reports today on the concerns of Cibao farmers that prices of basic Dominican food staples will drop considerably in January as a result of the high volumes of produce that will hit the markets. The president of the Consejo Nacional de Parceleros, Apolinar Germosén said that thousands of small and medium-sized producers in the region have benefited from the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and there are extensive fields under production. Farmers have planted yucca, plantains, sweet potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, corn, beans, squash and other short cycle crops taking advantage of assistance received from the government after fields were affected by the intense rains and winds of Hurricane Georges in September. The farmers, though, now say that the effects of the overabundance of produce will be worse on their finances than Georges was. "We will have to give the products away," said Germosén. He urged that the government find markets for the surplus in Honduras and Nicaragua, countries with a diet similar to that of the DR and where fields were wiped bare.
