Interview on topics interrelating Government and Agriculture in the Dominican Republic

RJ Naylor
Interview on topics interrelating Government and Agriculture in the Dominican Republic
2/17/2011
Mr. Abreu-Lecturer about Dominican Development in ISA

1. How does the Dominican Republic’s government work with private and International institutions to help develop agriculture?

The government is working together with both private and international institutions in several projects aimed at improving the competitiveness of agriculture through technology improvements and access to markets, but those initiatives are not achieving the desired results. We have then a very modern agriculture being managed by leaders of the private sector in the middle of an on average very inefficient agriculture depending on government aid.

2. Is the government and the private sector such as NGO’s and International institutions have conflicting goals for agriculture in the Dominican Republic?

In my opinion there are not conflicting goals since they seem to have the same goals, but have differences in the pace and commitment to the goals set. NGO´s depend too much on foreign grants and tend to change focus according to the sources of fund available, so it is difficult to achieve long term and measurable results. The private sector is to shy when it come to finance research or there activities that does not provide immediate results, being also to focused in the short term. The government seems to be more concern on public relations than on real and factual results and concentrating investment in some specific urban areas. The problems are not goals, but facts. In speeches agricultural is important to government, but we do not see it reflected in public policies instruments, like the national budget.

3. How do you think the private sector and the government can work together to improve agriculture in the Dominican Republic?

As in other sectors, politics should be put aside and the government should really commit to goal set together with the private sector. The government has failed so many times to act accordingly to the goals set after long and extended processes of consults, that the private sector does not trust the word of the government anymore and just try to take advantage with the relationship of public officers at all levels. We urgently need examples to follow but are not getting any. The agricultural sector is not currently a priority to the government, which is investing in public works only in the capital city and the agricultural ministry is in low profile and is not being properly funded. The Dominican agriculture urgently needs an authorized voice, since the interest groups of the sector are not working together and its representatives do not have the credibility and influence to change the government attitude. That needs to be changed.
Questions: Speaker from Santo Domingo who worked for US Govt.

1. What is the biggest challenge the United States poses to the Dominican Republic with respects to agriculture?

2. Do you believe that the government is doing the necessary things to improve the agriculture sector in the Dominican Republic?

3. What are the biggest challenges farmers face here with respect to agriculture? Funding? Government assistance? Land degradation? Organizational issues with NGOS and the government?


1. The biggest challenge: support the agricultural sector as the us government promised. Support trade capacity building to avoid the Dominican Republic creating a bad feeling against the US with regards to trade.

2. No. The DR Government is just protecting the Dominican agricultural sector, but it is not helping it to be more efficient.

3. Efficiency and market support. Management issues.