Santo Domingo.-Dominican Republic is between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with greater advances in the reduction of hunger and malnutrition, and if the trend is maintained, by 2026 it would officially leave the map of hunger, according to projections of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
This was explained by the chief economist of the FAO, Máximo Bullo, during the opening of the Regional Dialogue on Food and Water Security headed by President Luis Abinader.
There, the specialist stressed that, despite the increase in food prices worldwide in recent years, the percentage of people who could not pay a healthy diet in the country decreased to 23 % in 2024, below the average of Latin America and the Caribbean, which is 27 %.
“In the Dominican Republic, food inflation has behaved better than in most countries in the region, even lowering general inflation in the last period.
That, added to the increase in real labor income, reflects the positive impact of applied policies, ”said Torero during the event held at the Convention Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MILEX).
He said that in the Dominican Republic, the sub -hender was reduced from 8.7 percent in 2019 to 3.6 percent in 2025, below the regional average.
Impact of actions
Among the measures that have contributed to this performance, he cited social programs, improvements in the coordination of agricultural policies, the linking of small, medium and large producers to dynamic markets, as well as the salary increases applied in recent years.
The FAO representative also stressed that the prevalence of child growth delay in the Dominican Republic in 2024 was less than half of the regional average, which shows a significant advance in childhood nutrition.
When reacting to the data presented, President Abinader said that the achievements in the reduction of sub -hender are the result of an articulated strategy between different state institutions.
The goal
– The challenges
The president also recognized the importance of attending other challenges such as obesity, which affects about 30 % of the population, and thanked the accompaniment of FAO in the monitoring and supervision of the policies implemented.
The role of the agricultural sector is highlighted
Vision. “This is a good achievement, which shows that when policies are made in a coordinated and planned way they work. I congratulate the entire agricultural, social and economic cabinet, because these numbers may seem cold, but they mean better quality of life and less hunger in the country,” said President Abinader.
On his side, Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz, emphasized the role of the agricultural sector. “The strengthening of the field has been key to reducing hunger in the Dominican Republic.
We have promoted productivity, supported by small producers and promoted sustainable practices that today allow us to be a reference in the region ”.
