The Special Fund for Agricultural Development (FEDA) reported today that it is working continuously on a project that not only identifies the needs and aspirations of rural communities, but also brings a greater number of public services to them.
The institution explained that the initiative is a response to the fact that, for a period, state policies and investments were concentrated in urban areas, causing a persistent emigration to the cities.
He said that Dominican agricultural producers are responsible for the country enjoying 90% food self-sufficiency, even though, according to World Bank data, only 16% of the Dominican population lives in rural areas.
He pointed out that through the FEDA in your Community program, the institution carries out operations that include: surveys of the needs of rural populations, channeling of public services, agricultural species and inputs, and training in the areas of food production and citizen rights and duties.
In a statement, the FEDA said that to date, the project has reached more than 23,000 direct beneficiaries and 100,000 indirect beneficiaries, through some 87 socioeconomic inclusion days in which the FEDA has invested approximately 33.8 million pesos to improve the quality of life of farmers.
“This is the social arm of FEDA. Its objective is to promote the development of rural communities and provide solutions in the areas of health, training and guidance, as well as to bring them closer to the central government, so that they can benefit from its actions,” says the director of the government institution.
Hecmilio Galván, director of FEDA, explains that the activities are coordinated with mayors, agricultural organizations, neighborhood associations and community groups, during days in which between 300 and 900 rural residents participate, who benefit from the program’s services.
Public services
During the FEDA days in your Community, medical operations, membership days for the Supérate card and delivery of National Health Insurance (SENASA) cards, corresponding to the Subsidized Regime, are carried out.
“We also provide training in gender issues and prevention of domestic violence, with the support of the Ministry of Women; and youth workshops on agricultural entrepreneurship and family gardens; as well as children’s drawing contests and donations of agricultural tools and laying hens, all sponsored by FEDA,” explains Galván.
The official says that, among other services, rural residents receive food from the Economic Dining Halls, vocational guidance provided by the National Institute for Technical and Professional Training (INFOTEP), financial advice from the National Council for the Promotion and Support of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Promipyme) and incorporation into the solidarity pension program of the National Council for the Elderly (CONAPE).
The initiative also has the collaboration of the Central Essential Medicines Program for Logistic Support (PROMESE-CAL) and the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage (INAPA), among other government institutions.
“Poverty, territorial inequality, migratory pressure and food insecurity are some of the aspects of the accumulated social debt that the country has with rural communities, which we try to reverse with all our programs, especially with FEDA in your Community,” Galván emphasizes.
“Despite the difficulties,” he adds, “the Dominican countryside has not disappeared, nor have peasant families; on the contrary, almost two million Dominicans living in rural areas work for the well-being of all and aspire to a fair socioeconomic inclusion, so supporting them from the State is of transcendent importance for their development.”
Program achievements
Gloria Jiménez and Víctor Alcántara, coordinators of FEDA in your Community, say that the initiative, implemented in the 31 provinces of the country, has encouraged an improvement in the physical health of the beneficiaries; as well as higher levels of training in agroecology, raising farm animals, and civic rights and duties.
“Rural residents now participate in exchanges of ideas and experiences on productive projects, they know how to access services provided by the State, they know how to manage the legalization of documents and access public and private credit sources; in addition, they are trained in entrepreneurship, gender and domestic violence,” they add.
Jimenez and Alcantara highlight the success of the workshops in rural areas with a high level of vulnerability, such as Juancho, Oviedo and Pedernales, in the province of Pedernales; and Arroyo Dulce, Barahona.
The FEDA director also stressed that fields serve towns and cities in many ways: in food production, as recreational areas and by forming ecological lungs essential for the production of water and the preservation of flora and fauna.
“We are committed to eliminating the biases that have historically prevented rural communities from enjoying the benefits of important public policies, especially in the areas of health, civil rights, access to services, training, production and trade,” adds Galván.
For this reason, he adds, FEDA also supports rural areas with investment and modernization projects, through the implementation of advanced production and trade technologies, such as solar panels and new breeding, cultivation and sales techniques.
“No less important,” the official concludes, “we work alongside men and women in the countryside to strengthen their sense of inclusion and belonging, fostering the social connectivity necessary to share the knowledge and tasks they build together, as well as the fundamental values and commitments that identify them as a community.”
