The agro industrial production in Dominican republic

We were reading about the expansion of Dominican Republic agro products exportations.we believe that for storage and distribution the dominicans can achieve better results using agro industrial products.

Agriculture in the Dominican Republic has changed dramatically during the later part of the last century. Agriculture employed some 60% of the population in 1960 and was reduced to 18% in the year 2000 (Banco Central, 2000).

The question that must be asked, is agricultural development a viable conservation and development strategy for rural communities in the Dominican Republic?

The Center for Planning and Ecumenical Action (CEPAE) founded on October 27, 1970 in the Dominican Republic believes that many development projects fail because they perceive agriculture as a technical activity.

Agro industrial would solve the storage and maintenance issues that can show up with our warm weather and timing issues.

Somehow these obstacle came to my mind:

• An inconsistent and insufficient supply of raw material for no seasonal crops

• Poor quality of raw material supply and high losses during transport from farm to factory

• Poor and inconsistent quality of processed products ( the norm in dominican agriculture)

• Sub-optimal use of processing facilities and equipment

• Poorly trained personnel and a lack of qualified food technologists

• A lack of proper sanitation practices of dominican and haitian workers ( we need to be realistic)

• Inappropriate packaging materials and high packaging cost

• Weak or non-existent market development and proper experience in DR

• A lack of technical support for the agro-industrial sector in DR

• Absence of good management of the processing facility once commercialized

• Other issuers to consider include: Electricity and refrigeration issues, storage issues, road infrastructure issues, transportation of agro products in DR,proper logistic, Dominican burocracy,security, etc,etc

The question is what does it take as Dominicans to achieve those proper exporting goals?
I have to agree with Atabey that the future looks wider with Russian and Brazilian opportunities and new road infrastructure , but it takes the initiative of the private sector , not the government to do that.

The question is : Can we really do it?





For many years people have seen the agro industrial sector in a despective way.Instead , the importation of different issues in DR is the common thread.For example , you could see a lot of business importing oil and tires one by the side of the other but not a big complex in charge of exportation of agro industrial items..

First of all we need to identify the areas in DR for proper agriculture:

Map of the Agricultural Regions of Dominican Republic




This map shows the top food and other agricultural commodities produced in the Dominican Republic in 2008.
From the tonnage standpoint, sugarcane is, by far, the main agricultural product, with 4.8 million metric tons per year. From the value stand point, chicken, beef, and cow’s milk rank first, second, and third respectively

We need to check some of our main agro produce as well, for example:





But we haven't consider a lot of our produce to be exported to exotic destinations as well:sugar, distilleries produces, cassava ,swine packed produces, the  eggs and poultry produces,vegetable oil ,etc, etc..

People don't realize how lucky were are to have in front of us USA the biggest consumer in the world..And we barely see Dominican agro industrial produce in the market.

Another issue into consideration are the proper institutions that can support some of that exportation and productions and can give the proper orientations as well.I will name a few:

Asociación de Porcicultores del Cibao ,Consejo Estatal del Azucar, Centro de Desarrollo Agropecuario y Forestal ,Centro de Orientación, Apoyo yPromoción a la Inversión ,Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura ,Instituto de Estabilización de Precios ,Junta
Agroempresarial Dominicana ,Secretaría de Estado deAgricultura ,Centro de Orientación, Apoyo y Promoción a la Inversión , etc, etc..

National exports, not including free zones, jumped 44% between January and February compared with the same period in 2012, Dominican Republic Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD) director Jean Alain Rodriguez affirmed
He said exports in the first two months in 2012 were US$390 million, climbing to US$560 million this year, or US$170 million more.

“Dominican exports continue to grow thanks to the different mechanisms implemented by president Danilo Medina, in support of small and medium enterprises, which have boosted this sector,” the official said, and announced the Dominican Agribusiness Board’s (JAD)

 The number of countries to which organic produce is exported has been increasing steadily. During the year 2000, products were exported to at least 21 countries in the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Asia. Over 80 percent of the produce was exported to Europe. The main markets by volume were the United Kingdom and Belgium followed by the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy in decreasing order

 The potential for increased production of all crops and diversification is enormous. Indeed, there is already a trend to increase the product range. The growing domestic market as well as regional markets provide some potential particularly for vegetables. Indeed, it is envisaged that in the short term, expansion of organic production will track global trends in demand. Thus 5-10 percent growth is projected annually. Some of the major challenges concern production. These include production of sufficient product of high quality to satisfy demand, technical support for farmers, provision of affordable credit, suitable shipping schedules and growing competition

Toward the middle of this decade DR we will see an increase of the export for several reasons: acceleration in the pace of globalization and trade liberation and new market access, but that will require more domestic support commitment by Danilo's government as well.

Our expectations are high.The opportunities are endless..When there is a will, there is a way..

Where are you from? From the Island of la Hispaniola , la isla de Santo Domingo o Saint-Domingue?

Where are you from? Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Haiti, La Espanola o la Hispaniola?



I was having an argument in South Florida.An old friend of mine was arguing that he was from la Hispaniola, I told him I am from the Island of Santo Domingo, so probably we are from different countries.

Sometimes when people ask me where i am from, saying i am Dominican, I have to clarify that i am dominican from Dominican republic, not from the island of Dominica, so it get more confusing..

To clarify this I have to go back to my own people history...


La Española es una isla situada en el archipiélago de las Antillas Mayores en el Caribe, la cual contiene a los estados soberanos República Dominicana y Haití.

La Española es conocida por ser el lugar del primer asentamiento europeo en el Nuevo Mundo, descubierta por Cristóbal Colón en su primer viaje en 1492.
Es la décima isla más poblada del mundo, y la más poblada de América.
Es la isla número 22 en tamaño en el mundo.

The island bears various names originated by its native people, the Taíno Amerindians. When Columbus took possession of the island in 1492 he named it Hispana in Latin and La Isla Española, meaning "The Spanish Island", in Spanish. Bartolomé de las Casas shortened the name to "Española", and when Pietro Martyr d‘Anghiera detailed his account of the island in Latin, he translated the name as Hispaniola, Because Anghiera’s literary work was translated into English and French in a short period of time, the name "Hispaniola" became the most frequently used term in English-speaking countries for the island in scientific and cartographic works.



Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and de las Casas documented that the island was called Haití ("Mountainous Land" by the Taíno. D‘Anghiera added another name, Quizqueia (supposedly "Mother of all Lands", but later research shows that the word does not seem to derive from the original Arawak Taíno language.] Although the Taínos use of Haití is verified and the name was used by all three historians, evidence suggests that it probably was not the Taíno name of the whole island. Haití was the Taíno name of a region (now known as Los Haitises) in the northeastern section of the present-day Dominican Republic. In the oldest documented map of the island, created by Andrés de Morales, that region is named Montes de Haití ("Haiti Mountains".
Las Casas apparently named the whole island Haití on the basis of that particular region;] d‘Anghiera said that the name of one part was given to the whole island

The colonial terms Saint-Domingue and Santo Domingo are sometimes still applied to the whole island, although these names refer, respectively, to the colonies that became Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The name] Haïti was adopted by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. Quisqueya (disambiguation needed] (from Quizqueia) is used to refer to the Dominican Republic.

So, after this small research, I am confused how to answer the question of "where are you from?"



So ,after all this information, in the future..If somebody ask you..where are you from..What will you answer and why?

Edited on 6/12/2013 2:24 PM by ohhhvictor.

Dominican Republic

La Republica Dominicana
 











Dominican Republic ( o republica dominicana) is   a nation on the island of Hispaniola,(or Island of Santo Domingo) part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region  . The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti,  . Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation , with 48,445 square kilometres (18,705 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people, almost three million of which in the capital city, Santo Domingo.

 The Dominican Republic has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the  largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region according to the U.S. State Department .Though long known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. The country's economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunication system.

 The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The country's year-round golf courses are among the top attractions on the island In this mountainous land is located the Caribbean's highest mountain, Pico Duarte, as is Lake Enriquillo, the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest elevation. It has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great biological diversity. Music and sport are of great importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music, and baseball as the favorite sport.[

 

National name: República Dominicana

Current government officials

Language: Spanish

Ethnicity/race: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%

National Holiday: Independence Day, February 27

Religion: Roman Catholic 95%

Geography

The Dominican Republic in the West Indies occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. Its area equals that of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. Duarte Peak, at 10,417 ft (3,175 m), is the highest point in the West Indies.

Government

Representative democracy.

 

History

The Dominican Republic was explored by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La Española, and his son, Diego, was its first viceroy. The capital, Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
 
Spain ceded the colony to France in 1795, and Haitian blacks under Toussaint L'Ouverture conquered it in 1801. In 1808, the people revolted and captured Santo Domingo the next year, setting up the first republic. Spain regained title to the colony in 1814. In 1821 Spanish rule was overthrown, but in 1822 the colony was reconquered by the Haitians. In 1844, the Haitians were thrown out and the Dominican Republic was established, headed by Pedro Santana. Uprisings and Haitian attacks led Santana to make the country a province of Spain from 1861 to 1865.
President Buenaventura Báez, faced with an economy in shambles, attempted to have the country annexed to the U.S. in 1870, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify a treaty of annexation. Disorder continued until the dictatorship of Ulíses Heureaux; in 1916, when chaos broke out again, the U.S. sent in a contingent of marines, who remained until 1924.
A sergeant in the Dominican army trained by the marines, Rafaél Leonides Trujillo Molina, overthrew Horacio Vásquez in 1930 and established a dictatorship that lasted until his assassination in 1961, 31 years later. In 1962, Juan Bosch of the leftist Dominican Revolutionary Party, became the first democratically elected president in four decades.

Freely-Elected President Balaguer Witnesses Withdrawal of Foreign Troops

In 1963, a military coup ousted Bosch and installed a civilian triumvirate. Leftists rebelled against the new regime in April 1965, and U.S. president Lyndon Johnson sent in marines and troops. After a cease-fire in May, a compromise installed Hector Garcia-Godoy as provisional president. In 1966, right-wing candidate Joaquin Balaguer won in free elections against Bosch, and U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew.
In 1978, the army suspended the counting of ballots when Balaguer trailed in a fourth-term bid. After a warning from President Jimmy Carter, however, Balaguer accepted the victory of Antonio Guzmán of the Dominican Revolutionary Party. In 1982 elections, Salvador Jorge Blanco of the Dominican Revolutionary Party defeated Balaguer and Bosch. Balaguer was again elected president in May 1986 and remained in office for the next ten years.
In 1996, U.S.-raised Leonel Fernández secured more than 51% of the vote through an alliance with Balaguer. The first item on the president's agenda was the partial sale of some state-owned enterprises. Fernández was praised for ending decades of isolationism and improving ties with other Caribbean countries, but he was criticized for not fighting corruption or alleviating the poverty that affects 60% of the population.

President Fernández Lights Fire Under Dominican Republics Failing Economy

In Aug. 2000, the center-left Hipólito Mejía was elected president amid popular discontent over power outages in the recently privatized electric industry, but in May 2004 presidential elections, he was defeated by former president Leonel Fernández (1996–2000). Fernández instituted austerity measures to rescue the country from its economic crisis, and in the first half of 2006, the economy grew 11.7%.
On May 16, 2008, incumbent president Leonel Fernández was reelected, taking 53% of the vote. He defeated Miguel Vargas of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, who won 41%.

Among the First to Offer Aid to Haiti

After the devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010 in Haiti, the Dominican Republic was one of the first countries to offer aid despite the two countries having a history of conflict. The Dominican Republic sent food, medicine, and teams to assess the damage. The country also eased visa requirements so the injured could seek treatment at Dominican hospitals.
Over a year later, in the spring of 2011, protests started and signs were posted, calling for the refugees to go home. By August 2011, Haitian refugees were turned away at the border and in some cases, deported. The shift in attitude showed impatience with Haiti's slow recovery as well as other concerns, including a high unemployment rate, among the highest in Latin American, and cholera, which had killed more than 90 people in the Dominican Republic, many of them Haitian migrants.
In October 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) received over 450 complaints from people in the Dominican Republic who said their citizenship had been revoked. The complaints came from people who have been recognized as citizens for decades. The IACHR condemned the policy, but on December 1st, the country's Supreme Court rejected a Dominican-born male's request for a birth certificate so he could relocate to the United States. The new policy could affect some 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian origin.

Ruling Party Candidate Wins Presidential Election

In May 20, 2012, Danilo Medina, candidate of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party, won the presidential election. Medina narrowly defeated Hipólito Mejía, receiving 51.24 percent of the vote. Voting fraud allegations followed the election, including claims from other political parties that votes were bought. The Organization of American States confirmed vote-buying, but concluded that it was not enough to determine the outcome of the election so the organization approved the results.
On August 16, 2012, Medina takes over for Leonel Fernández, who has been president for 12 of the last 16 years. Fernández's wife, Margarita Cedeño, will serve as Medina's vice-president. Fernández is eligible and expected to run for another term (his fourth) in 2016.

Tourism

 

Tourism is fueling the Dominican Republic's economic growth. With the construction of projects like Cap Cana, San Souci Port in Santo Domingo, and Moon Palace Resort in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic expects increased tourism activity in the upcoming year. Ecotourism has been a topic increasingly important in the nation, with towns like Jarabacoa and neighboring Constanza, and locations like the Pico Duarte, Bahia de Las Aguilas and others becoming more significant in efforts to increase direct benefits from tourism. Most residents from other countries are required to get a tourist card, depending on the Country that he or she lives in.

Sports

 Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic. The country has a baseball league of six teams.

  After the United States, the Dominican Republic has the second-highest number of Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Ozzie Virgil, Sr. became the first Dominican-born player in the MLB on September 23, 1956. Juan Marichal is the only Dominican-born player in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Other notable baseball players born in the Dominican Republic are: Robinson Cano, Julian Javier, Pedro Martínez, Francisco Liriano, Manny Ramírez, Jose Bautista, Hanley Ramírez, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Ubaldo Jiménez, José Reyes, Alcides Escobar, Plácido Polanco and Sammy Sosa. Felipe Alou has also enjoyed success as a manager, and Omar Minaya as a general manager. In 2013, the Dominican team went undefeated en route to winning the World Baseball Classic.

 

In boxing, the country has produced scores of world-class fighters and several world champions.Basketball also enjoys a relatively high level of popularity. Al Horford, Felipe Lopez, and Francisco Garcia are among the Dominican-born players currently or formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Olympic gold medalist and world champion hurdler Félix Sánchez hails from the Dominican Republic, as does NFL defensive end Luis Castillo.Other important sports include, Volleyball, which was introduced in 1916 by US Marines, is controlled by the Dominican Volleyball Federation. Other sports include Tae Kwon Do, in which Gabriel Mercedes is an Olympic silver medalist; and Judo.

Music

 

 Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for the creation of the musical style called merengue, a type of lively, fast-paced rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute (though it varies) based on musical elements like drums, brass, chorded instruments, and accordion, as well as some elements unique to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, such as the tambora and güira.

 Some well-known merengue performers include Johnny Ventura, singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, Fernando Villalona, Eddy Herrera, Sergio Vargas, Toño Rosario, Milly Quezada, and Chichí Peralta. Merengue became popular in the United States, mostly on the East Coast, during the 1980s and 1990s, when many Dominican artists, among them Victor Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Zacarias Ferreira, Aventura, and Milly Jocelyn Y Los Vecinos, residing in the U.S. (particularly New York) started performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. The emergence of bachata, along with an increase in the number of Dominicans living among other Latino groups in New York, New Jersey, and Florida have contributed to Dominican music's overall growth in popularity