For the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Dominican countryside faces the challenges imposed by climate changeand needs intersectoral public policies to support farmers, promoting access to more efficient and sustainable markets.
This added to promoting investment in technology and digitalization and generating instruments that protect farmers from possible climatic events such as droughts, storms, floods, among others.
“This will allow the development of productive actions, but also healthy and sustainable food production chains”said Rodrigo Castañeda, FAO representative in the Dominican Republic.
In responses to Free JournalCastañeda said that now the difficulties generated by the scarcity of agricultural inputs and the high costs of energy are added.
“However, the country’s agricultural system was key to avoiding a larger-scale food crisis. This was only possible, to a large extent, thanks to sectors that achieved significant levels of adaptation and modernization, essential for the functioning of agri-food systems at the regional and global levels”, said the FAO representative.
Do you think there is a need for a policy of Integrated Rural Developmentwhere it has, among other things, support programs for small and medium-sized farmers to improve competitiveness, but with an important focus on adaptation and care for the environmental characteristics that already exist in the territory.
“Public policies need to focus on raising the segments of subsistence agriculture and in transition to consolidated models, respecting the characteristic criteria of production from family farming”points out the FAO representative.
Rodrigo Castañeda said that it is necessary not only more public and private investment in rural areas, but also greater willingness to articulate between the different actors working in the sector. “The articulation is not spontaneous, it must be promoted”.
