Context and objective of an agrarian diagnosis.
This study was carried out as a master's internship at the Institut National Agronomique de Paris-Grignon (INA PG) for the National Council for Agricultural and Forestry Research (CONIAF), between 1st eroOctober 2003 and May 15, 2004. The objective was to characterize the agriculture of an area, so that it can serve as a tool for agricultural development projects. The Los Dajaos micro-basin was chosen for its particular microclimate and the presence of water in quantity thanks to the numerous streams, which give it significant potential for agriculture. Several governmental (IDIAF) and non-governmental (mostly PROCARYN) projects are already beginning to try to exploit this potential. As a measure prior to the implementation of any development project, it is essential to carry out an agricultural diagnosis of the area under consideration. The principle of this diagnosis is not only to characterize the climate and soil conditions and the market possibilities in the area,but to try to understand "the different elements (agro ecological, technical, socio-economic,…) that determine the choices of producers in a region and consequently the evolution of their production systems" (Apollin. F and Eberhart. C, 1999). It is on the combination of these elements that development projects have to intervene in order to support and guide agriculture in the area. For example, the most effective way to limit a crop that is harmful to the environment will be to propose another crop or another more interesting technique for farmers, which will encourage them to leave the initial crop. Therefore, the success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.…) That determine the choices of producers in a region and consequently the evolution of their production systems ”(Apollin. F and Eberhart. C, 1999). It is on the combination of these elements that development projects have to intervene in order to support and guide agriculture in the area. For example, the most effective way to limit a crop that is harmful to the environment will be to propose another crop or another more interesting technique for farmers, which will encourage them to leave the initial crop. Therefore, the success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.…) That determine the choices of producers in a region and consequently the evolution of their production systems ”(Apollin. F and Eberhart. C, 1999). It is on the combination of these elements that development projects have to intervene in order to support and guide agriculture in the area. For example, the most effective way to limit a crop that is harmful to the environment will be to propose another crop or another more interesting technique for farmers, which will encourage them to leave the initial crop. Therefore, the success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.It is on the combination of these elements that development projects have to intervene in order to support and guide agriculture in the area. For example, the most effective way to limit a crop that is harmful to the environment will be to propose another crop or another more interesting technique for farmers, which will encourage them to leave the initial crop. Therefore, the success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.It is on the combination of these elements that development projects have to intervene in order to support and guide agriculture in the area. For example, the most effective way to limit a crop that is harmful to the environment will be to propose another crop or another more interesting technique for farmers, which will encourage them to leave the initial crop. Therefore, the success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.The success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.The success of the projects to come will depend on the accuracy of the characterization made in the agrarian diagnosis.
The systemic approach.
Basically, we consider the rural society of our study area as consisting of three levels of organization: the agrarian system, the production system, and the cultivation or rearing system.
Crop systems describe the organization of several crops that constitute a homogeneous group: an alternation or association of crops in a group of plots with similar agro-ecological conditions. Technical itineraries are taken into account, with the agronomic logic that justifies them. According to the same concept, the maintenance of a herd is characterized, with conditions and management. In the production system, the combination of cultivation / rearing systems is taken into account, and the priority level of each for the farmer. The agrarian system is characterized by the distribution and organization of the production systems that comprise it, and its dynamics, for example the possibilities of evolution from one production system to another.
Methodology: farmer surveys and modeling.
Our work, after a physical characterization of the micro-basin, consisted of conducting farmer surveys. The farmers' choice was made in a reasoned way: an attempt was made to make a representative sample of the diversity of the identified production systems (even the minority ones), rather than their statistical importance. For each cultivation system identified in a production system, we try to know all the cultural operations practiced and their characteristics (working time, costs, frequency…). For this reason, we use a previously established survey guide (see annex 1), but which we adapt to the situation of the farm considered and the type of information required: for example, each survey did not attempt to know the entire production system,but sometimes details about a particular farming system.
The processing of the collected data allowed a cost-benefit analysis of the cultivation systems, and an economic evaluation of the operation of the different types of production systems, after modeling them. Then, we compared these models with criteria not only economic, but also agro-ecological, sustainability,… This analysis allowed us to establish some proposals for key development axes for the micro-basin.
Geographical description of the micro-basin.
In a first step, it is about presenting the general characteristics of the study area, to understand in which context the agricultural activity is developed.
Location and physical conditions
This area is characterized by a mass of mountains with altitudes from 700 to 1700 meters above sea level (masl), with irregular topography. The presence of several tributaries of the Los Dajaos stream gives a variable geometry vertically and horizontally.
Flat lands are found on the banks of streams, and generally within the larger bed of the Los Dajaos stream, up to 500 m from the smaller bed. The other streams do not have such wide beds, and have steeper slopes.
Further away from the stream, the slopes begin, with up to 60% slope in steep glens.
As a consequence of the altitude, the micro-basin enjoys a cool temperature all year round (average: 18 ° C), as well as high levels of relative humidity and rainfall (1,650 mm / year). Although there are two dry seasons (from November to April and from June to August), there is never a very critical water shortage, as the period without rain does not exceed two weeks. There is no weather station in Los Dajaos, so the closest existing data is that of Manabao, 5 km further west, and at a height of 900 m, which corresponds to that of the towns of Dajaos and Arroyo el Dulce. (See rainfall diagram).
Subsoils, soils and water resources
For this part, we rely on the Rapid Rural Assessment of Population and Environmental resources in the Los Dajaos Sub-basin, Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic in 1994. The authors characterize the micro-basin as “a zone of life for very humid low montane forest (bmh - MB). There are also components of the lower montane rain forest (bh - MB) in the highest parts of the sub-basin where there are slopes with very steep slopes and the elevations range from 1400 to 1700 masl. "
The predominant tree species is pine or cuaba (Pinus occidentalis Sw.), Which is the most widely used as timber for construction, due to its high proportion of resin that acts as a preservative. In the natural forest plots, the pine is mixed with guama (Inga vera), some grayumbos and palm palms in the lower part. The shrub layer is mainly composed of guayuyo, guayabos. Caña brava and lemongrass, along with various species of ferns (Pteridium sp.) And datura, grow in forest areas on the banks of the streams.
According to one of the only descriptions of the natural fauna of the area, it is in the same study (rapid rural evaluation): “In these environments populations of the Spanish parrot (Amazona ventralis), the parrot (temnotrogon roseigaster), the goldfinch thrive. (Myadestes genebardis), the pine stork (Dentroica pinus) and various taxa of amphibians, reptiles and mammals (bats). ”, but the Parrot of Hispaniola seems reduced.
History of the communities of the micro-basin.
1920 - 1970 colonization of the Los Dajaos watershed.
- Arrival of the first colonies. 1940 occupation of Piedra Llana. Conuco cultivation in slash / burn: beans, rice, coffee. Almost nothing to sell the production.
1970 - 1990: agrarian reform and coffee cultivation.
- 1971: formation of the Los Dajaos Farmers Association (ASADA). 1979: with Hurricane David, arrival of the first chemical fertilizers in the area, especially for the cultivation of green beans. 1980 to 1981: as a result of the reform agrarian, 90 conuquera families were established in hillside areas of high ecological fragility, which in a few years contributed to the degradation of the resource base and the depopulation of the area. 1986: boom in the sale of coffee plantations. Arrival of the caturra variety, in grafted bushes, more adapted to areas with less rich soils than the ravines. 1990s: coffee crisis.
1990 to present: arrival of intensive crops.
- 1994: The Falconbridge Foundation pays for the pipeline of the Los Dajaos community aqueduct (El Rubecindo stream). Most of the community takes part in the installation work. The objective of this aqueduct was firstly to irrigate arable land to curb deforestation, and then the consumption of houses, reducing the cultivation of green beans, which leaves a soil too tired due to the reduction of bush rest. Development of the cultivation of tayota, in substitution of coffee or beans. The coffee plantations, which have the best soils (lower parts of the basin, canyons, river banks), are uprooted to free up space for the tayota, sometimes leaving the logs to serve as a tutor. With the drop in the price of coffee, and the attraction of the tayota that uses a lot of labor in the lower parts,depopulation of the upper parts of the basin (Josafá, and later El Bolo). 2000: first tasks planted with strawberries in the countryside. 2002: the last inhabitant of El Bolo falls in the community of Dajaos.
Socioeconomic conditions.
Population and location of the communities.
The most recent figures are from the 1994 census (those from the 2003 census are not yet available). The total population of the micro-basin is 1120 inhabitants, divided into 285 households. The gender balance is 57% of men and 43% of women. This imbalance can be explained by the fact that many young females prefer to settle in Jarabacoa or in the capital, while males often stay working in agriculture. The population is quite young, since it has 588 adults and 532 (47.5%) minors.
The habitat is very dispersed, but nevertheless some communities stand out, mainly in the lower part of the study area. Those of El Manguito, Los Marranitos, La Paloma, and the most populated, Los Dajaos, are located at the entrance of the micro-basin (less than 2 km from the Manabao-Jarabacoa highway), between 700 and 900 meters above sea level. The Arroyo Dulce (or El Dulce) community is the most widespread, as it begins at the exit of the Los Dajaos community and ends more than 4 km further into the micro-basin. To the west of the Dulce, the community of Piedra Llana (la Pelua) brings together the entire Rubecindo watershed, one of the main tributaries of the Dajaos. The two villages of Bolo and Josafá are more difficult to access due to their height and steep slopes, and were abandoned in recent years,but they still host workers who come to cultivate their conucos for several days in a row.
Infrastructures.
There is no asphalt road in the micro-basin, but a road open to road traffic connects the Manguito to the Dulce (crossing the Dajaos), often in poor condition (in rainy weather) and reserved for 4 × 4 vehicles. Others allow us to get to Los Marranitos, La paloma, and recently to Piedra Llana. Access to the micro-basin is via the Manabao - Jarabacoa highway, which is in good condition, facilitating relations with the Santo Domingo - Santiago axis.
The community of Los Dajaos also enjoys an aqueduct for the irrigation and consumption of most of the houses. The pipes were paid for by the Falconbridge Foundation and installed by the farmers of the area in 1994. It has its dam in the Rubecindo at 1071 meters above sea level, has more than 8 km of main pipe and 8 tanks, and irrigates some 3000 farmland tasks., for the benefit of 70 families.
In the basin there are 3 elementary schools, in Los Dajaos, El Dulce and Los Marranitos, a Catholic church and a rural clinic with the presence of a doctor in the Dajaos.
The ASADA farmers' association has infrastructures that benefit most of the families in the micro-basin, even if they are not members of it. A sawmill located in Pinar Quemado, purchased in 1994, allows the supply of lumber at good prices for the community, and a rustic laboratory for in vitro seedling production produces healthy strawberry and potato plants for farmers at low cost.
Organizations and supports.
Local organizations.
The Los Dajaos Farmers Association, ASADA, was founded in 1971 with the aim of organizing agricultural activities, and taking advantage of the group effect to obtain external support as well as to buy materials from wholesalers. It is through ASADA (and some community leaders) that help was obtained for the communities, such as the installation of the rural clinic, the arrangement of the main roads and suspension bridges, or interventions by training and support institutions technical. A committee of Los Dajaos women recently met with ASADA.
The Junta Yaque association, born from ASADA, facilitates construction work throughout the area between Manabao and Jarabacoa.
The association San Ramon in El Dulce and the Junta de Vecinos de Los Marranitos try to unify the inhabitants of these communities. An association of fathers and mothers of the Los Dajaos school was also formed. Also noteworthy is the presence of the headquarters of the Lomas Verdes Foundation in Los Dajaos, which promotes and finances reforestation in the Paragua area, which in turn belongs to the upper part of the micro-basin.
Lately, a Los Dajaos Micro-basin Defense Committee was created, which will be in charge of co-establishing with PROCARYN a comprehensive management plan for the basin, and supervising its implementation. Also noteworthy is the formation of an Organic Coffee Producers Committee, whose objective is to define organic coffee management to obtain certification.
Main external actors.
At the regional level, coffee growers in the Jarabacoa area were unified into a cooperative, ASCAJA (Association of Jarabacoa Coffee Growers), which purchases and processes coffee from small producers. In addition, CODOCAFE (Dominican Coffee Council) provides training assistance for improving the quality of coffee. In social and agricultural aspects, PROCARYN (Upper Yaque del Norte River Basin Project) is very active in the study area, with the organization of training workshops and organization, supplying tree plants for reforestation.
Some government agencies (IDIAF and CONIAF) manage various research projects for the development of agriculture in Los Dajaos.
The basin enjoys the actions of world-class organizations for the protection of nature and development. Among them, the Falconbridge Foundation (Financing of the aqueduct, the laboratory, road repair, etc.), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Moscoso Puello Foundation for organic agriculture certifications, etc. stand out.
Economic activities.
Agriculture is the first economic activity within the studied area. Almost all the households are linked to the production or marketing of agricultural products. In the Rapid Rural Assessment of the sub-basin in 1994, the authors note: “Agricultural production, although it develops some sources of employment, seems to be largely articulated based on family exploitation. Which leads some people in the communities to think that the vitality and well-being of the sub-basin depends on how agriculture is going. ” Today, this is still the reality, but there is a growth in the employment of non-family labor, linked to the growth of the area occupied by the tayota. For the same reason, the transport of the crops is carried out, which is done all year round,and almost every day in production seasons.
There are also some 8 grocery stores or small businesses that sell basic necessities.
In addition to this, as in all the communities in the area, there are people who, in addition to being farmers, are bricklayers and carpenters, which adds income to the family: the price of labor for skilled workers is higher in construction than in in agriculture.
Outline of typology of the peasant farms of Los Dajaos.
It is now possible to establish a categorization of production systems, to introduce the types of farms, which will be explained later. Access to natural resources (land tenure, water availability,…), the level of intensification and technicality, the variety of farming systems, as well as a qualitative appreciation of saving capacity and investment.
Type 1: landless workers.
This first class of peasants corresponds to a limit situation, since they lack two of the three constituent components of a production system: land and capital. They only have their workforce that they sell on third-party farms. In this sense, they are considered as workers rather than farmers, a status that leaves almost no decision-making power for agriculture in the basin.
They form an important part of the basin's population, up to 100 people (9%). They mainly participate in the maintenance work of coffee plantations (chapia, shade maintenance), coffee harvesting between the months of November and April, and of tayota all year round. The price of labor varies between RD $ 100 and 200 per day, plus a simple meal (which can be estimated at RD $ 20), for agricultural work. But generally, landless workers accept wages of RD $ 25 to 50 less than others, that is, their opportunity cost is lower because they have no other source of resources (their own production) with which to compare their wages.
It should be noted that these workers are mostly Haitians installed recently in the micro-basin, that they were unable to inherit land from relatives and arrived without the necessary capital to buy it. Young people who do not yet own their own land and who, in addition to helping on the family farm, sometimes work on someone else's farm also belong to this category.
Type 2: exclusively conuquera farms.
The exclusive conuqueros consist of all the families that have few lands, sometimes their own but more often loaned, that they use only for the cultivation of food in conucos. They practice the most traditional agriculture in the micro-basin, a production system whose main objective is to ensure the supply of food for the house throughout the year, limiting household expenses to a minimum. In this sense, they choose cultivation itineraries that will not always optimize yields or gross margin, but will avoid periods of food shortages. They use very few chemical inputs, the labor is family-only, and they sell only what is left over after the family consumes, often about 5-20% of their output, often the family's only source of income.
They practice slash / burn agriculture on land with slopes of medium to strong slopes (30 - 50%), with plots of 5 to 20 tasks, without irrigation.
Type 3: polyculture farms for sale.
In these farms, the farmers have several main crops for sale (tayota, coffee, strawberry and vegetables in some cases, lemon), which they manage successively with rotations, sometimes simultaneously in several plots. For these crops, they dedicate their best lands (located in flat parts or ravines), use irrigation and chemical inputs to maintain stable yields and production quality. For some operations, they resort to paid external labor. The cultivated areas are small, of own or borrowed lands, generally with irrigation
At the same time, almost all of them continue with the traditional agriculture of conuco in higher lands for self-consumption, which constitutes security in terms of providing food for the family in the event of a drop in income (losses, falling prices,…), in addition to allowing most of the income to be used for the operation of the farm (self-investment).
Type 4. Monoculture farms.
They are farms that had a specialization phase in a single crop. The investment required for this specialization came from resources generated by a polyculture income system, or even from capital of non-agricultural origin.
Most of these farmers produce tayota on land with good fertility. Its objective is to maximize the yield per task, by using a large amount of chemical inputs, paid labor, and in general, a capitalization of the farm.
This category also includes coffee production farms, which, despite being few, play an important role due to the area occupied and the large amount of labor they employ.
Type 6: Livestock farms.
They occupy natural pastures, and in some cases planted, in the highest parts of the basin, or some mounds with steep slopes in the lower part of the basin. The cows are loose in very large areas, with barbed wire around.
Generally, they own the paddle and the land, but they live outside the basin (Jarabacoa, Santo Domingo, or New York)
Micro-watershed zoning.
To analyze the study area, a characterization of the agro-ecological zones is carried out, taking into account several criteria, not only physical, but also social and historical. In addition to the simple description, it is a question of constructing a tool that allows the specific cases and models of production systems to be placed in the context of agro-ecological zones.
The altitudes give the main criterion for a delimitation of agro-ecological zones: three zones of different morphology and land use are identified:
- Low part, from 700 to 1000 masl; Medium part, from 1000 to 1400 masl; High part, from 1400 to 1600 masl.
Bottom.
- Altitude: less than 1000 masl Weak slopes, from 0 to 30%: banks of streams, mounds, Los Dajaos creek area and abundant tributaries Many gullies and areas of accumulation of organic matter: black, sandy soils with good drainage, fertile. Hillsides with deep, more clayey soils (red mud), non-limiting stonyness (less than 30%) Natural vegetation: life zone of the very humid low montane forest (bmh - MB); the average temperature is 18 ° C.
Land use:
- Cultivation of tayota with irrigation, without rotations, without rest of the land. Cultivation of vegetables on small areas (plots of 1 to 10 tasks): strawberry, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion. Few crops of groceries and basic grains, around houses, patio economy.
In addition, this part concentrates the majority of the inhabitants and economic dynamics, as well as community infrastructure: two schools (Arroyo El Dulce, Los Dajaos), passable highway (El Manguito - Arroyo El Dulce), rural clinic (Los Dajaos), two suspension bridges (Los Dajaos), 4 micro electric turbines;
Medium part.
- Altitude: 1000 to 1400 masl. Stronger slopes, generally limiting for agriculture (20 to 60%), few flat plots. Glens with reduced bottoms and slope: less accumulation of organic matter, clayey soils with sometimes limiting drainage, low stonyness. Natural vegetation: life zone of the forest very humid to humid low montane (bmh - MB to mh - MB).Temperature similar to that of the preceding zone. Presence of several springs and streams of medium to low flow (5 to 70 L / s), dams of small private aqueducts (for irrigation and household consumption) and the community aqueduct in Rubecindo, Piedra Llana (with a flow rate of 1 to 5 L / s);
Land use:
- Few income crops, conuco plots: planting food with low technicality, without irrigation, slash-burn short rest (3 to 8 years); abandoned coffee plantations, reforestation plots (Pino Occidentalis, Gravilea, cedar).
The few families that live in that area have to go to the lower areas to go to school, sell their productions, participate in training workshops, etc., which takes time, in addition to agricultural work.
High part.
- Altitude: 1400 to 1700 masl; Summits and highs of ravines, medium slopes, sometimes limiting; Medium to low fertility: overexploitation of the forest and extensive livestock farming limited the reproduction of soil fertility; Despite all this, soil depth not limiting; Low montane humid forest life zone (bh - MB), but with lower temperatures and higher rainfall than in the lower parts of the basin.
Land use:
- Extensive cattle ranching and forest exploitation (wood, firewood, and charcoal) in regression, agriculture with very low income due to lack of convenience and means of transporting production: cultivation of food for self-consumption almost exclusively. Reforestation plots;
Characterization of production systems.
Crop and livestock systems.
A cropping system is defined at the parcel or parcel group level. It is characterized by homogeneous soil and water conditions, associated with specific cultural practices. Each isolated item does not necessarily constitute a cultivation system: the successions and associations of crops are taken into account, as well as the agronomic logic that guides them.
For example, the residual effect can be considered, that is, in what state did the preceding crop leave the plot in terms of fertility, soil structure, presence of weeds or residues of plant protection products, and the sensitivity of the following crop (which crop will take best advantage of nitrogen fixation by green beans, etc.).
For each crop in this system, it is a matter of characterizing the technical itineraries (costs, labor and equipment required, frequency), that is, the succession of cultural operations, their effects on performance, and the reason for that strategy. It should be noted that the pastures, the forests and the patio are considered as cultivation systems.
Gain systems, often closely linked to pasture systems, are evaluated in the same way: by analyzing the management of reproduction and feeding, herd management strategies are characterized.
In parallel with the analysis of cultural operations, the resulting yields are evaluated, as well as the way of marketing the products and the use of by-products (sale, use of coffee pulp and crop waste as organic fertilizer, animal feed).
The data obtained in the interviews with the farmers allowed to characterize the main farming and profit systems of the study area.
Climbing vegetables: la tayota (
Location: low parts, proximity of streams.
The cultivation of the tayota developed in the micro-basin as a production for sale during the last 10 - 15 years, together with the decrease in the production of green beans and coffee, due to the drop in their sales prices. Currently, it monopolizes an important part of the flatter and more fertile lands of the micro-basin, where the best yields can be achieved. However, plots of tayota are found on very steep slopes. This item is very little consumed by farmers, so it can be considered as a sale crop exclusively, and - it can be added from now on - the most important in the micro-basin both in terms of the amount of activity it generates and as a source of income. We estimate the surface of tayota in the microbasin between 500 and 550 tasks, which are divided as follows:
| The sweet | The Dajaos | The pigeon | plain stone | Total |
| 260 ta | 130 ta | 100 ta | 60 ta | 550 ta |
The area of tayota in each community is proportional to the amount of land suitable for that crop available, and not to its population: for example, some farmers in Los Dajaos have most of their land in the Dulce, a larger area.
Technical itinerary :
- Preparation of the plot: the first stage, after plowing, is the installation of the climbing structure. In fact, the bushes of tayota are developed on a wire mesh 1,50 / 2 m above the ground, which facilitates the different maintenance works of the plants, as well as significantly increases the yields, according to the farmers. However, as the entire vegetative apparatus of the bush is raised, the soil is left bare, which can cause its “lesivage” and its erosion in plots with a steep slope.
A great uniformity is found in the realization of the climbing structure. First holes are made and sticks are planted in lines, 4 to 5 meters distant from each other. Acacia sticks are used, or preferably cuaba (western pine) which are more resistant. Some farmers cut their own sticks on their forest plots, while others buy them (for RD $ 60-100 per unit), saving them cutting time. Most producers alternate thick (or "strong") 25 cm diameter stick lines with weak sticks, cheaper and more comfortable to load. The proportion of strong sticks can be a third or a half, and they are mainly used on the periphery of the plot. After the sticks the wire mesh is installed. Throughout the periphery of the plot, stronger barbed wire is used,while inside a mixture is made: barbed wire or thick barbed wire (which reduces the risk of injury to workers) to gather the sticks, and fine "sweet" wire inside the boxes thus formed. The result is a 40 - 50 cm square woven side.
- the plantingof the tayota is done at the beginning of the installation, in such a way that the bushes have already been born and are ready to climb when it is finished building. The whole fruit is planted in one hole, sometimes two in each hole, with a density of 40 to 80 bushes per task, depending on the slope. With a higher density, the bushes are bothersome and compete for light. Some farmers plant the tayotas below the strong sticks, so that the weight is distributed better, since the density of strong sticks is similar to that of the bushes. Production is not optimal until the tayota is closed, that is, until the bushes form a continuous roof. The establishment phase (before the tayota closes) can last 12-15 months depending on planting density, use of fertilizer, or weather conditions. Thereafter,the plot can continue in production for 2 to 10 years depending on the variety of tayota, until all the bushes dry, or the production falls. So if the structure is in good condition (which is very often true if it is made of western pine), a reseeding can be done every 5 years. It is only necessary to start the dry bushes, lift the wire mesh, plow the whole plot with oxen or turn the land over at the planting sites, and plant again.Plow the entire plot with oxen or turn the land over at the planting sites, and plant again.Plow the entire plot with oxen or turn the land over at the planting sites, and plant again.
During the production phase, the cultivation of tayota in the micro-basin requires an important use of inputs, as well as labor power. For some cultural operations, family labor is not enough and paid external labor is used. These arguments, together with medium cultivation areas (between 5 and 15 tasks on average) lead us to consider tayota as a semi intensive cultivation. However, the rapid rise in the price of inputs (due to the economic crisis), which intervenes prior to the rise in the sale prices of the production of Taylor, resulted in a reduction in the quantity and frequency of the use of inputs from many producers, and in particular a more reasoned use of pesticides.
- Fertilization is done with complete chemical fertilizer (mainly 15/15/15, sometimes alternating with sulfate), although two farmers interviewed used organic fertilizer (chicken manure and manure). Most farmers spread about a pound of fertilizer around the trunk of each bush, every month or month and a half. It is a simple job that can take, each time, an HD (day man) for 10 or even 20 tasks. On average, the farmers interviewed pour 4.3 qq of fertilizer per year and per task.
- Fumigation is mainly done with a mixture of three products: a foliar fertilizer, an insecticide, a fungicide.
Many farmers are aware of the adaptation mechanisms of pests, which is why they alternate different insecticides and fungicides. They use insecticides from 3 main categories: organophosphates (methamidophos), metomyl carbamate (long-spectrum and very powerful) and pyrethroid idas. The most used fungicides are mancozeb, dithiocarbamates and phthalinin (based on copper), and sulfur. While the majority of farmers have a systematic use of pesticides, with a well-established fumigation frequency, some others seem to adapt the use of these products to the needs of the moment (reasoned use), in particular, spraying fungicides especially on time. damp. This type of attitude was recently encouraged by the general rise in the prices of imported inputs (which are the majority).
The frequency of fumigation is slightly higher than that of fertilization (monthly or slightly less), and the working times are similar.
- Dislocation: for a good development of the fruits and to avoid a suffocation of the bushes, as well as to limit the force of the weight that crushes the climbing structure, the farmers have to cut the leaves and dried vines. That job is done with a knife as a single tool, done on average 9 times a year, and you may need 1 to 2 HD per task each time. Along with harvesting, it represents one of the key cultural operations in terms of the amount of work required. Foreign labor is often used, sometimes paid for adjustment (that is, negotiating a price per plot and not for days worked). Some farmers choose to remove their bushes more frequently, which saves them time in the annual total, and above all allows them to do this work themselves, without having to pay workers.The uprooted wastes are left on the plot, and serve as organic fertilizer for the tayota, and can benefit the following crop as a residual effect.
- When the tayota is closed, it is not necessary to weed the plot, since the light that passes through the leaf roof is tiny, and little weeds can grow.
- The harvestIt is done 3 times a month, which is considered the main advantage of this item by farmers: once the plot is established, it is a very short-term crop, which facilitates the liquidity of the farm and limits the risks, and that even more in a period of price instability. Harvesting is an operation that often requires a significant use of paid labor (50% on average), since it represents a peak of work. Indeed, although it totals only about 11 HD of work per year and per task, it is necessary to harvest the entire plot in one day at a time to facilitate the sale, which a farmer alone cannot do, but with the help of 2 4 workers. Average performance is about 1800 dozen per task per year. However,There is a great variation among farmers (from 730 to 3,000 dozen per year and per task), depending on the management and type of land. Those who practice monoculture with many inputs have the highest yields. In addition, all the farmers insisted on saying that there is great variability in yields throughout the year. From one harvest to another, the amount of fruit harvested can double, an oscillation to which a seasonal effect is added: too cold or dry times can decrease production.swing to which a seasonal effect is added: too cold or dry times can decrease production.swing to which a seasonal effect is added: too cold or dry times can decrease production.
- The sale is made on the same day of harvest, generally to buyers who come to the basin to collect production from various producers. At the farm level, tayota is sold by the dozen. The trucks are filled on the El Dulce - Los Dajaos highway by the harvesters. If the parcel is away from the road, or if the road is too bad for trucks (rainy times), producers use mules or pay neighbors who have vans to bring production to the trucks. It is the buyers who impose the price, according to the sale price in the markets of the capital, Santiago, or Dajabón (for export in Haiti). Some producers have a sales contract, which guarantees them a fixed price previously negotiated against an exclusive sale to a buyer, but they remain a minority. Two producers in the micro-watershed have their own truck and can sell their production themselves at wholesale markets.
The prices of tayota are highly variable, depending mainly on the quantity of tayota available in the market. In addition, it should be noted that the effect of the general increase in prices of all products in the country was added to this effect. Between the months of October and April, the prices of the tayota at farm level varied from 5 to 20 RD $ per dozen, and those of chemical inputs (imported), followed the dollar rate, that is, they suffered a rise approximately 60% in the same period. The price used in the evaluations (RD $ 18 per dozen) corresponds to a stabilization observed between the end of February and the end of this study; as much, it cannot be considered as an annual average.
The year of installation of a parcel of tayota does not seem profitable in most cases. Production begins 3 or 4 months after sowing, and is optimal only 1 year later: yields are low and costs are high for the installation of the climbing structure. As soon as the tayota closes, the years of production allow to achieve high gross margins, even the years of replanting with low production (every 5 years) that allow to obtain a small profit (about RD $ 3,400 per task).
The table figures for the cultivation of tayota (annex 2) gathers average figures for the establishment and cultivation of a task for tayota, based on data from interviews with 12 producers of tayota in the different communities of the micro-basin
Shaded coffee (and associated crops).
Coffee is one of the traditional items of the micro-basin, since the climatic conditions (freshness and humidity during most of the year) correspond to its natural habitat, and consequently are very appropriate for its cultivation. Despite successive coffee price crises (very low, unprofitable sales prices) and the arrival of coffee leaf rust and broca (up to 70% losses), which caused disgust and massive rejection of that cultivation (at least as the main source of income), several coffee plantations remain in production. They occupy a large area, with farms of 10 to 2300 tasks in the studied area.
The soils used are very varied. As a result of the decline of this crop, many of the coffee plantations that occupied fertile soils were uprooted to plant tayota. The coffee plantations planted in ravines give better yields.
The first coffee plantations were planted 80 years ago (see «history of the micro-basin») with the typical variety (typical Coffea arabica). The most recent coffee plantations also include the caturra variety, in varying proportions (up to 100% in the newer plots). The bushes of this variety are smaller, as are the grapes, but the productivity is higher in less fertile land.
A shaded coffee parcel appears as an association of various crop strata, so it can often be thought of as an agroforestry system, geared towards one main crop. The strata are as follows:
- arboreal layer: shade trees, necessary for the good development of coffee. The most common are pines (Pinus occidentalis, the local species) but guama, grayumbo, or any other native tree that existed in the forest prior to the establishment of the coffee plantation is also used. The tree layer is little exploited as firewood or wood, but nevertheless it is essential to protect coffee from direct sunlight and extract minerals from the deep layers of the subsoil (vertical renewal of fertility), thus increasing the natural fertility of the floor.
- intermediate layer: you can find in the plots some fruit trees (sour or sweet orange), macadamia, musaceas (banana or banana), which in addition to adding a little shade to that of the upper layer, give a production of groceries and fruits for the house.
- shrub layer: it consists of the coffee bushes, which have priority for the farmer and guide the evolution of the entire plot.
Intecsa- inarsa. Santo Domingo, RD 2001
Peña Franjúl
PROCARYN Jarabacoa, RD 2002
COUETIL, Anne and ROUSSEAU, Audrey
CONIAF, Santo Domingo, 2004.
We also rely on agricultural development courses received during the master's year at INA PG, and led by Marc DUFUMIER.
Source: Hydroelectric power development study strengthening agricultural production in the Los Dajaos sub-basin, Jarabacoa, 2004.
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