Representatives of the World Bank and the IDB agreed that the challenges include limited market access and improving food quality and safety.
Increasing competitiveness, solving the problems of limited market access and improving food quality and safety are among the main challenges of the Dominican agricultural sector.
This was stated by representatives of international organizations who discussed the issue yesterday at the 26th National Meeting of Leaders of the Agricultural Sector, organized by the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD). They also added that another challenge is the persistence of problems in the cold chain.
For the representatives of the World Bank (WB), Alexandria Valerio and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Gilles DamaisAgriculture is crucial for the country’s development, but this sector of the Dominican Republic has to overcome challenges to achieve sustainable development and thus produce the demand for goods required by the Dominican population.
Valerio said that the country has low competitiveness, because although the Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic (DR-CAFTA) offers opportunities, it also presents challenges such as taking advantage of expanded access to the American market.
He said that many small producers face difficulties in accessing markets, due to a lack of infrastructure, technical capacity, innovation and access to land.
He also noted that institutional capacity is lacking and gaps persist in implementing and sustaining agricultural policies and projects.
“This includes administrative delays and the need to strengthen institutional capacity. Efficient management is lacking.“, said.
He suggested that addressing these challenges requires better coordination, capacity building and effective governance in the agriculture and natural resource management sectors.
He stressed that the country has very low investment in public services for the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Gilles Damais pointed out that in terms of quality and safety, there is a significant challenge for the DR, due in part to the misuse of pesticides.
He pointed out that the increase in demand for goods that the country has had in recent years has not been due to an increase in productivity, but rather, to an increase in the exportable cultivated areas.
The IDB representative also explained that, in his opinion, there are significant risks of contamination of fresh products in the cold chain, especially in the final stage.
Necessary policies
In his speech, the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rodrigo Castanedastressed the need to modernize the agricultural sector through access to advanced technology and the incorporation of agricultural practices adapted to climate change, such as biotechnology. He highlighted the importance of strengthening family farming, improving their income, access to credit and technologies.
Regarding water, he said that efficient risk mechanisms and systems are needed to help preserve water. He said that today, 70% of water is wasted due to the lack of irrigation infrastructure and poor management.
He stressed the need to shorten supply chains by creating links between family farming, tourism and public procurement initiatives.
