- Introduction
Despite the fact that open borders are promoted worldwide , imports and exports with “0”% tariffs, free trade and specialization of production and markets by country and region. It is still true and current that a territory, region and country must have the necessary capacities to be "self-sufficient".
Self-sufficiency is not a "sin" as it is sometimes claimed by the promoters of globalization, in fact it is a factor that provides "competitive and comparative advantages" that allow consolidating entry into international markets.
One of the agricultural products with the greatest presence in regional and national markets in the Dominican Republic is potatoes, unfortunately only for a period of less than ten years the country was self-sufficient in the production of "potato seed" and for more than 20 years This has been imported for the average sowing of 15,000 annual tasks in the intramontane valleys of Constanza and San José de Ocoa. Also allowing a capital flight that annually has exceeded $ 15,000,000.00, this added to the constant genetic and phytosanitary degradation, which has put the economy of potato producers at risk on several occasions and even more importantly the soils of the valleys. intramontanos of the Dominican Republic that are a true national heritage.
The objective of this document is to present an experience, a proposal, a route that, through mixed financing from the private and state sectors, establishes a "program" of "certified potato seed production", which not only allows the "Self-sufficiency"from the Dominican Republic, but rather contribute to obtaining productions with high yields and of good quality. As well as allowing small and medium producers that today have had to abandon their agricultural properties or dedicate themselves to planting products of less economic benefit, due to the high prices of imported potato seed and the constant failures due to use of tuber-seed product of the recycling of their agricultural activities, they are again integrated into highly profitable agro-productive processes such as potato production.
Today small, medium and large potato producers can have a new opportunity, today the municipalities of Constanza and San José de Oca can improve their socioeconomic conditions, today the Dominican Republic can strengthen its regional leadership at an agricultural production level, through strengthening and monitoring of the “certified seed potato” production project .
This project is not an individual effort, but a joint effort by a series of local and national actors, who, given the agro-productive circumstances that potato producers are going through at present, have been able to establish that the most viable alternative at the moment is development. of a “Certified Potato Seed Production Project”, an added value that the project boasts is the unification of an organizational structure that will make it viable in time and space. So far they have actively participated:
- Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA); Dominican Agribusiness Board; Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF); Fernández García CxA Vitroplantas del Caribe;
To successfully conclude the project, it is necessary and even imperative to have the political, human, logistical and financial support of the Secretary of State for Agriculture, as the guarantor of the agroproductivity of the Dominican Republic and the strengthening of all the entities that make up the different “Agricultural chains” that contribute financially to the development of the country.
It is important to highlight that today we have the technological, human and logistical capacities to face this project that does not seek individual economic benefit, but rather the strengthening of the agricultural production capacities of Constanza, San José de Ocoa and the Dominican Republic.
Within this document, the reader will find general and specific aspects of potato and potato seed production in Latin America and in the Dominican Republic, as well as the results that have been obtained to date, to finally present a proposal to the government authorities. development of immediate action that allows the consolidation and conclusion of the certified potato seed production project.
It is a challenge for agricultural producers and especially for the Secretary of State for Agriculture, the search for self-sufficiency in the medium and long term, to reduce the whimsical dependence of external producers, who in many cases do not commercialize quality seed for the Dominican Republic that they offer, putting in
This is so that the authorities have the necessary information and tools for a quick decision-making on the support that can be provided to the "potato seed production project in the intramontane valleys of Constanza and San José de Ocoa. " All those involved in this project must emphasize that the decisions taken today will provide the fruits of tomorrow.
For the development of the certified seed production project, it is considered necessary to have a financing amount of $ RD. 28,500,000.00, in order to reach the seed production phase at the basic and certified level, together with the financing, it is necessary to have the support at the level of logistics, human resources and transportation, which is described below:
- One (1) Vehicle for transporting technical and operational equipment, preferably four-wheel drive truck; Two (2) Large Tractors for tillage of land with their respective harrows; One (1) Small Tractor for planting and harvesting; Two (2) water pumps; Technical support from at least 4 professionals from the Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA) and IDIAF; Computer equipment and furniture to implement the project coordination and monitoring office.
For the development of the project, a period of 12 months (1 year) is estimated, from the current phase where the "minitubercular" produced is already available, until the potato seed certification phase, a period of 12 months (1 year), also establishing that in parallel, it can Another productive cycle should be executed again, to have the viability of continuously offering potatoes to potato producers in the intramontane valleys of Constanza and San José de Ocoa.
- goals
Overall objective:
- Improve the unit yield of the potato crop in the Municipality of Constanza and San José de Ocoa and therefore in the Dominican Republic.
Specific objectives:
- Production of seed potatoes of good genetic quality and health, reduce the cost of production of the potato crop, producing in our field of seed quality work; Start the creation of a gene bank with varieties of "seed potatoes" conditioned to the climatic, edaphic and phytosanitary characteristics of the productive regions of the Dominican Republic; Strengthen the confidence of local producers in the development of "potato seed" of good genetic and sanitary quality; Avoid dependence on other countries for seed of potato and thereby reduce the flight of financial capital abroad.
- Project justification
The implementation of a certified potato seed production program will help to solve in part the problem of scarcity of seed of good genetic and sanitary quality, at the right time for sowing, allowing the Dominican Republic and in particular the small, medium and large potato producers and marketers strengthen their agricultural chain, as well as:
- They do not continue to introduce poor quality seeds, containing diseases (fungi) and pests (golden nematode), which puts at risk not only the potato crop, but also the precious intramontane soils of the Constanza and San José de Ocoa valleys; Decrease o Completely conclude the flight of financial capital for an annual amount of more than $ 15,000,000.00, which in turn degenerates into high-cost potato seed for small and medium producers and with it the decrease in the agricultural potato harvest and an increase in agroproducts of lesser economic and commercial value; The generation of a "mixed capital project"where both the private initiative and the government represented in the Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA), promote the production of "certified potato seed" as a "NATIONAL PROGRAM", which allows productive self-sufficiency, as well as increased production by involving small and medium-sized agricultural potato producers in special programs; Improving the environmental conditions of the intramontane valleys, by reducing the use of agrochemicals by having genetic material adapted to the climatic and phytosanitary conditions of the municipalities of Constanza and San José de Ocoa; Achieve the operationalization of the technical, technological and scientific efforts that for many years theDominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF), is developing for the implementation of local production projects of "certified potato seed. "
- 4 . General Background
4.1 Production of potato seed in Latin America
In the last two decades, potato seed production in Latin America has undergone notable advances thanks to the development of rapid multiplication methods using rooted stem sections or massively multiplied in-vitro seedlings and techniques for the elimination of pathogens through cultivation. of meristems and thermotherapy. At the same time, Serological and nucleic acid hybridization methods for the detection of pathogens, especially viruses and viroids that, due to their systemic presence in the plant, are easily diffused by vegetative multiplication. This technology generated and disseminated by the International Potato Center (CIP) rapidly displaced the traditional methods of clonal multiplication, reducing time and costs to obtain the basic, elite, initial or fundamental material as the seed tubers that the centers are called or experiment stations deliver seed multipliers.
During the 1980s, methods of rapid multiplication and detection of pathogens by serology were widely disseminated in Latin America through an intensive training program sponsored by CIP. It is estimated that from 1972 to 1992, approximately 2,000 Latin American professionals received general or specialized training in seed production and disciplines related to multiplication and health. During this same period, several countries made the decision to reduce their seed imports in order to save foreign exchange, and other non-importers decided to improve the quality of their seed. Both situations conditioned the introduction and diffusion of these technologies by the national potato programs of public institutions and in many cases by the private sector.
The great diversity of agroclimatic and technological situations in which rapid multiplication methods have been introduced in Latin America has resulted in a large number of valuable experiences that have contributed to improving and adapting new methodologies to the particular situations of each country or region. producer. However, in some cases there are still factors that limit the extensive use of these technologies and in others the seed programs have been oversized in such a way that they are not related to the demand and real needs of the country. This document analyzes in a generic way the experiences in seed production in Latin America and the limitations for the greater diffusion of modern technologies of rapid multiplication and health control.Recommendations for improving seed production systems are also presented.
4.1.1 The seed potato concept
To start a discussion on the topic of potato seed, it is essential to previously define the concept of seed quality. Producers rate the seed of poor or good quality according to a set of criteria which receive varying degrees of importance according to experiences and
Individual needs. For many farmers, the size of the seed is a very important criterion due to its relationship with the unit cost or because of the requirement of mechanical sowing. Others give great value to the origin of the seed, identifying the quality with the location of production. In some cases, the external appearance of the tuber, state of conservation, sprouting and the presence of visual symptoms of pests and diseases are considered. Occasionally, the analysis of viral diseases by serological methods is used. In reality, all these observations are partial appreciations of a comprehensive concept of quality that includes two large groups of factors related to physiology and health. These factors are closely related to the climatic conditions of the place of production,with the production process itself and with the post-harvest handling of the seed.
The relationship between physiological state and productive potential is well known. Seed produced in cold climates exhibits a broader growth curve and greater productive potential than seed produced in hot climates. The concept of physiological age was introduced to explain this differential behavior of the seed by its degree of youthfulness or physiological aging. Some other environmental and production and postharvest management factors modify the physiological age of the seed and consequently its earliness and productivity. Among the factors that induce physiological aging in production are the photoperiod of short days and high temperature, the water deficit and the low nitrogen fertilization of the mother plants and mainly the high temperature during storage.Hormone and growth regulator treatments also influence the physiological age of the next generation.
Health is also closely related to climatic and environmental factors in production centers. The best places for multiplication are those that, due to their severe climatic conditions and their isolation from other crops, allow seed to be produced under the minimum pressure of infection from diseases transmitted by various vectors, of which the best known are aphids. These conditions are achieved in regions of greater latitude or through altitude in countries located in the tropics. In Latin America both situations occur. Argentina and mainly Chile present exceptional conditions for seed multiplication in their southern regions. The Andean countries resort to the highlands to produce their seeds and it is the same in several Central American countries.In Mexico, as well as in Argentina, both resources are used, that is, altitude and latitude.
Optimal climatic conditions must be complemented with adequate production practices and convenient post-harvest handling. Health also depends on agronomic practices, from the selection of the field, the seed, the discarding of atypical plants or with disease symptoms, the control of pests and diseases, during growth; and timely harvest and selection before storage under proper conditions.
4.1.2 Low multiplication rate in the field
One of the most limiting factors for the diffusion of new varieties as well as for the seed renewal of commercial varieties is the low rate of vegetative multiplication of potatoes. In Latin America the average multiplication rate in the field is 1: 5 fluctuating between extremes of 1: 3 to 1:10 in the best conditions. However, in some countries specialized in seed production this rate is close to 1:20. In the Andean countries the most frequent practice is the selection of large tubers for the consumer market and medium or small tubers for the seed market. This is a very widespread practice even among seed growers specialized in the first multiplications of the basic seed.In this way, approximately 50% of production is destined for the consumer market and only 50% continues the multiplication process. Unfortunately this practice allows valuable material to be lost and contributes to dramatically reducing the multiplication rate.
4.1.3 Weaknesses in seed production systems in Latin America
Although there are great differences between Latin American countries, there are a number of weaknesses that appear in different degrees of intensity. Here is a list of the most common.
- Non-compliance with seed laws and regulations Obsolescence or inapplicability of legal norms Definition of institutional responsibilities for supervision and quality control Instability of trained personnel for pre-basic seed production in public institutions Weakness of producer associations Little coordination between supply and demand to define what is multiplied, where and how much pre-basic or basic seed is needed Competition between the public sector and the private sector in seed production Oversizing of the infrastructure for pre-basic seed production Low productive efficiency in laboratories,Greenhouses and fields High production cost Price instability Seed leakage from the formal system to the consumer market Dishonesty of intermediaries in the seed market
Figure 1: View of mini potato tubers, platform for the development of certified potato seed in the Dominican Republic
4.2 Importance of certified seed potato cultivation
4.2.1 Importance of potato cultivation at the national level
At the national level, potato cultivation has a greater preponderance in the mountains due to the area planted and harvested as reported by existing statistical information; but not so in unit yield.
Potato production in the Dominican Republic comes from the municipalities of Constanza and San José de Ocoa, the bulk of the production is dedicated to fresh consumption since the main variety used is granola and it does not present desirable qualities for frying.. The Atlantic variety is the second of global importance, but the first for the frying industry. (IDAF, 2002).
Consumption in the Dominican Republic for the year 2000 was estimated at 8.7 grams per day / per capita, compared to the recommended daily consumption of 10.0 grams per day / per capita, this gap in consumption as well as in yield per hectare (task), has serious implications in production, while representing an opportunity for growth and technological development of this crop. In addition, the current global trend of modifying the consumption of fresh products for processed products should be considered, which broadens the range of possibilities in the agro-food chain of the sector. The current trend is associated with the growing diversification of the tuber market, which is now consumed not only as fresh potato, but also fried in flakes (chips), French-fried, as instant puree and bread, among others. (IDAF, 2002)
The challenge is to produce more food (that is, more potatoes) on less land, with less damage to the environment and with increasingly scarce resources. To achieve this, it is necessary to overcome the technological and socioeconomic limitations that hinder its production and comprehensive use. (IDIAF, 2002)
4.2.2 Importance of potato cultivation in the municipality of Constanza
More than 90% of potato production is obtained from the Constanza and San José de Ocoa region, with yields per hectare in the first case of 19.7 tons and in the second of 9 tons, this difference is due to the soils more fertile and more technical in the municipality of Constanza, the ups and downs in production are mainly due to two factors: 1. The oscillating changes in the market price of fresh potatoes; and 2. The changing and faddish supply of potato seed. (Modified Melgar, M. 2006, from IDIAF 2002).
The municipality of Constanza, due to its strategic location, a large part of its territory located in the intramontane valleys of the central mountain range, the main crop is potatoes with an average yield of xx tm / ta. And socially it is important because most of the men of the field get together, either in communities or as a family to carry out agronomic work in this crop, especially in the harvest where they share the fruits of the effort deployed in the production of this precious tuber. In fact, it can be considered that a large part of the socioeconomic aspects that converge in the municipality of Constanza is the product of potato cultivation.
4.2.3 Problems of Potato Seed Production
The problems that really limit the production of good quality potato seed in the region are infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi that decrease the yield and degenerate the seed in a short time. Potato seed is one of the main inputs in potato production. However, the availability of planting material of the appropriate varieties, with the necessary quality, quantity and opportunities, is one of the great limitations that potato cultivation still faces in the Dominican Republic, especially for farmers with scarce resources and access. limited to financing. This is particularly important when comparing the price of local seed versus imported seed potato. The latter can cost $ 1,500.00 per ton.Only in 2001, around $ 20,000,000.00 was spent on importing potato seed, imported from Europe and the United States. It is estimated that this situation is one of the main causes of the gradual deterioration of the technological conditions of potato cultivation in the Dominican Republic, particularly in the use of poor quality seed tubers and in the bad management of pests and diseases. (IDAF, 2002)
Farmers select their own seed for the next planting, saving the small, unqualified potatoes on the market, rather than producing their own seeds, compounding the problem even more. This is because diseased potatoes do not reach commercial size. These tubers used as seed generate diseased productions and small tubers. Generation after generation this worsens to alarming proportions. This process of successive sowing in the open field, implies a degeneration of the capacity of the tubers-seeds to produce good yields, due to the depletion of the physiological and the increase of vascular infections produced by viruses and bacteria, which are acquired in the field via some vector insects and (or) by contact. (IDAF, 2002)
4.2.4 Dependence on potato seed from other countries
100% of the potato seed used for production in the country is imported from other countries such as: Canada, Germany, the United States and others. The importation of potato seed results in negative factors such as:
Economic factors
Foreign currency flight : Annually it is estimated that between $ 15,000,000.00 and $ 20,000,000.00 leave the country as a result of the acquisition of potato seed. This flight of capital not only causes problems of local economic fluidity (municipalities of Constanza and San José de Ocoa), but it also deepens to further undercapitalize the national bank.
Price instability: Because potato seed is imported, prices are subject to international factors, so there is a constant fluctuation (always on the rise) of potato seed, which directly affects potato producers. potato (small, medium and large).
Low quality of seed / Low quality of production: By not having an adequate certification process, in the process of importing potato seed, it has resulted in very poor quality productions in some years, which result in that the little successful production reaches high prices and large losses to producers, marketers and an increase in the family basket.
Phytosanitary and genetic factors
Phytosanitary problems: Imported seed lots can be physiologically and genetically degenerate or cause phytosanitary problems, which can affect the economic conditions of the crops.
Lack of conformation of native germplasm: Despite the fact that in the 70s, there was a “Dominican-German” program for the production of certified seed, located in the intramontane valleys of today “Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier National Park” (Valle Nuevo), unfortunately the project did not continue due to economic considerations that preferred the importation of potato seed, the above has had repercussions by not allowing the generation of "germplasm banks" of local seed varieties, which would allow to have varieties adapted to soil, climatic and phytosanitary conditions, which would directly improve the yields in seed production and, given the experiences in other countries, would reduce production costs.
Social factors
Little participation of small producers: Today a large part of the potato production has been accumulated in few producers, because small producers do not have the economic capacity to acquire the so-called "certified potato seed", which above has resulted in: a. leasing of land; b. leasing of its labor; c. high price on inputs; d. migration from the countryside to the city; and. substitution of low-value agriculture, f. little or no support from Banco Agrícola due to the non-refinancing of debts; g. lack of integration and / or association due to the disintegration of efforts in subsidence agriculture, etc.
Change of "modus vivendis": Small and medium producers, not having easy access to "certified potato seed", try to find new "survival strategies" in the short and medium term, causing in most cases a change in the "modus vivendis", which in the case of the intramontane valleys of Constanza, focuses on the sale of its properties, most of these not to continue with agricultural activities, but for the development of urban infrastructure, which year after year, brings as a consequence the decrease of the arable lands of the intramontane valleys, which are considered essential for the development of high altitude agricultural crops. Collaterally, another line of life change is the migration of people and entire families to the urban areas of large cities (Santo Domingo and Santiago), which brings a series of urban, social and economic problems that put human security at risk. and social of the recent emigres. Although these conditions are also the product of other socioeconomic factors,It is evident that gradually the lack of access to low-cost inputs is causing a change in the “modus vivendis” of the agricultural society of Constanza, which sooner or later will have repercussions on the municipal, provincial and national social fabric.
4.2.5 Efforts for local potato seed production
Despite the situation of ups and downs in the production of quality seed tubers, the country has had fruitful experiences in this direction. An example is the “Dominican German Santa Cruz Project”, which was executed with technical and financial support from the Secretary of State for Agriculture, the Cooperative Development and Credit Institute (IDECOOP) and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ). The project was developed between 1976 and 1992, making the country self-sufficient in potato seed production, between 1980 and 1987, through research and implementation of a local seed-tuber multiplication program. (IDIAF, 2002)
During the period 1995 to 1999, the then Department of Agricultural Research (DIA) of the Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA), with the scientific support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program (FAO), established an agreement on cooperation between the Institute of Plant Biotechnology (IBP) of Cuba. Through the agreement with IBP, original material that was cleaned and tested against bacterial and viral diseases was supplied. Thus, tests of a seed tuber production scheme were started from high-health material produced in tissue laboratories. Then, the vitroplants are kept in the shade for 20 to 25 days and are taken to the open field where it is harvested as original or pre-basic material at 65 or 80 days depending on the variety.Under the vitroplant-shade-field (VUC) scheme, enough pre-basic tubers free of pests and at low cost can be produced. A disadvantage of this system is the high level of seedling losses in the field if conditions are not optimal, due to the fragility of the vitroplants when transplanted to the field. As of the year 2000, after the transformation of the DIA into the Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute (IDIAF), the need to reverse the negative effects of reuse of seed and the lack of basic material of genetic and sanitary quality was raised as a necessity. To this end, the IDIAF National Research Program on Roots and Tubers was created, whose main objective is to influence the competitiveness of potatoes in two areas of action: 1.develop a multiplication scheme that allows the involvement of local producers; 2. Reduce production costs and / or increase the profits of agricultural producers, by obtaining appropriate and above all healthy genetic material. (IDIAF, 2002)
Figure 2: Minitubercules produced in the certified potato seed production project of Lic. Jesús Fernández López.
- Productive process
For the development of the production process, a sequence of technological steps has been established that ensure the establishment of a "protocol" with which the quality of the certified potato seed production process will be maintained. These steps are listed below:
Figure 3: Production of vitroplants from certified potato seed
Step 1: Production of vitroplants
- Typical tubers of the varieties that are to be multiplied are taken to the in vitro culture laboratory; After successive increases, easy-to-transport and low-cost vitroplants are obtained.
Figure 4 and 5: Cultivation of potato seed vitroplants
Step 2: Using Umbracles
- The production of pre-basic seed is carried out within shade houses, preferably covered with anti-aphid mesh; These shade houses can have various types of structures, from high-cost metal to rustic with plastic posts and tubes, which are cheaper.
Figure 6: Partial view of umbracles used for growing mini tubers
Step 3: Construction of production beds in shade houses
- Growth beds are built in the shade house that can be raised or at ground level; the bottom is covered with washed gravel to allow drainage. The beds are filled with a mixture of zeolite (silicate), with crumbled coconut shell, which will serve as a substrate for the production of potato seed; This substrate can be effectively disinfected using solarization.
Figure 7: Partial view of production beds in shadows of the project of Lic. Jesús Fernández López
Step 4: Establishment of vitroplants
- The seedlings are transplanted at a density that varies from 75 to 125 plants per square meter, depending on the variety; They are sown at a depth that allows at least two hills during the vegetative cycle; It must be ensured that the zeolite-based substrate is very moist at the time of transplantation.
Figure 8: Partial view of the establishment of vitroplants in shadows of the project of Lic. Jesús Fernández López
Step 5: Crop development
- Management of vitroplants differs from that of commercial potatoes. Fifteen days after transplantation, 50 grams of urea per square meter are applied, together with the first hilling. This is repeated with 15-15-15 30 days after transplanting; Irrigation is provided every 2 to 3 days with sprinklers or fine droplet showers; Due to the use of anti-aphid mesh, the incidence of pests is minimal.
Step 6: Harvesting minitubercules
- Plants are harvested at different times. In most varieties it occurs at 56 or 63 dat. A week before, the foliage is dried with paraquat or it is cut, which allows the hardening of tubers; Yields range between 4 and 5 seed-size tubers (15 mm in diameter) per sown plant; tubers of high phytosanitary quality are obtained.
Figure 9: Collection of mini-tubercles from project hatches
Step 7: Storage
- Once harvested, the seeds are classified into three sizes (less than 15 mm, between 15 and 35 mm and greater than 35 mm in diameter); plastic containers or mesh bags can be used, in which up to 25 kg are placed. of the same; The seeds must be protected from aphids and storage moths using contact insecticides recommended for it; Periodically the storage area is checked, in order to determine the presence of humidity inside the container; In addition to humidity, it is checked periodically lighting.
Figure 10: Crop view inside the shade houses
Step 8: field multiplication
- The tubers are sown on ridges with a frame 0.70 x 0.20 meters; The crop is fertilized with doses lower than those used in commercial potatoes. Studies have indicated favorable responses using 110 grams of urea at the time of planting. Crop protection is carried out in a similar way to that carried out in commercial potatoes. The plantation must be sanitized, removing atypical or diseased plants.
Step 9: Harvesting and Storing Basic Seed
- Between 75 and 80 days the foliage is burned; Yields can reach between 15 and 20 tons per hectare; Tubers must be classified between sizes (less than 15 mm, between 15 and 55 mm and greater than 55 mm in diameter); The tubers obtained are stored for 8 to 12 weeks to be sown in the field and obtain certified seed.
Figure 11: Certified seed potato production process
Source: Todo papa / argentina, 2005
- Project proposal
As part of a personal initiative at the technical and business level, starting in January of the current year, actions are initiated in order to establish a project of "certified potato seed production", the main objective being the production of seed viable at the genitive and sanitary level, for small, medium and large producers of the municipalities of Constanza and San José de Oca and at the national level. It is estimated that the project from the production of the mini tuber (current phase), until the production of the certified seed potato will need a period of 12 months to execute the complete production cycle. The project was developed with technical support and scientific advice from:
Dr. Pérez Ponce
FAO Agricultural Consultant
Ing. Percio Rodríguez
In charge of the Dominican Institute of
Agricultural and Forestry Research
Ing. Lorenzo Rivera
Cuban consultant and specialist
in substrate crops
Ph.D. Marvin melgar
Management, Development, Planning Specialist
and Project Reliability
The project is structured in three execution phases, which are described below:
Phase 1: Adaptive Research (Pre-feasibility)
During phase 1, the methodological steps from 1 to 5 are developed, the success of the entire crop cycle, which ensures the production of potato seed of genetic and sanitary quality, is born from the proper management of this phase, since Based on it, the quality of the genetic material is ensured for the subsequent methodological steps and phases. This phase has been developed successfully, within the technical and scientific parameters, as verified by the field and laboratory tests that ensure and validate the results for obtaining the "minitubercules" of two different varieties of potato:
- Cristina Amelia (similar to the variety known locally as Granola); Claudia Maria (similar to the variety known locally as Atlantic);
During this phase, 30,000 vitroplants of the Cristina Amelia variety and 10,000 vitroplants of the Claudia Maria variety were established in the umbracles.On average, 09 minitubercules were obtained from each vitroplant, having obtained a total of 360,000 minitubercules, of which 270,000 minitubercules are of the variety Cristina Amelia and 90,000 minitubercules of the variety Claudia Maria.
For the development of this phase of the project, we have the data of the investment developed to date
| Correlative | Description | Number | Measure | cost | Total |
| one | Greenhouse cleaning | 4 | Unit | 250 | 1000.00 |
| two | Make the beds | 4 | Unit | 250 | 1000.00 |
| 3 | Installation of rods and plastics | 6 | Unit | 350 | 2100.00 |
| 4 | Purchase of plastics | 16080.00 | |||
| 5 | Rod purchase | 4150.00 | |||
| 6 | Sweet wire purchase | 600.00 | |||
| 7 | Filling of substrate beds | two | Unit | 250 | 500.00 |
| 8 | Purchase of bed substrate | 1018 | Sacks | 300 | 305424.00 |
| 9 | Purchase of vitro-plants | 350000.00 | |||
| 10 | Rod purchase | 6000.00 | |||
| eleven | Workforce | twenty | Wages | 350 | 7000.00 |
| 12 | Workforce | 26 | Wages | 250 | 6500.00 |
| 13 | Workforce | 24 | Wages | 200 | 4800.00 |
| 14 | Record | 9 | Mts 3 | 800 | 7200.00 |
| fifteen | EDENORTE | 3565.00 | |||
| 16 | Purchase of vitro-plants | 250000.00 | |||
| 17 | Fumigation | one | Wages | 100 | 100.00 |
| 18 | Transplant | 6 | Wages | 200 | 1200.00 |
| 19 | Hilling | 10 | Wages | 350 | 3500.00 |
| twenty | Planting the tunnel | two | Wages | 250 | 500.00 |
| twenty-one | Planting the tunnel | two | Wages | 200 | 400.00 |
| 22 | Greenhouse repotting | 4 | Wages | 200 | 800.00 |
| 2. 3 | Fumigation | one | Wages | 100 | 100.00 |
| 24 | Weeding | one | Wages | 250 | 250.00 |
| 25 | Multiple bill | 2035.00 | |||
| 26 | Irrigation Equipment | 10000.00 | |||
| 974804.00 |
Phase 2: Field production of pre-basic, basic and potato seed certification
For the development of phase 2, it is necessary to have human, logistical and financial resources that allow the completion of the production cycle from pre-basic to basic and end with the potato seed certification.
For the pre-basic to basic phase, it is considered to use approximately 60 tasks of land, which have not been cultivated in at least 20 years, for this, authorization has been obtained from the Directorate of Protected Areas, to use some Intramontane valley areas, located in the Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier National Park (Valle Nuevo), in the areas where the Dominican-German project carried out work in the 70's and 80's, for the production of potato seed.
For the development of the production from pre-basic to basic, with a duration of 70 days in the definitive field, a global amount of $ RD 4,531,000.00 (million Dominican pesos) is necessary, which is broken down in the following budget, for the production of 60 tasks, at an estimated cost of RD $ 71,517.00 (machinery and transport logistics support is not considered).
| Correlative | Description | Number | Measure | cost | Total |
| one | Cleaning | fifty | Unit | 350.00 | 17500.00 |
| two | Bed preparation | fifty | Unit | 350.00 | 17500.00 |
| 3 | Workforce | 30 | Wages | 350.00 | 10500.00 |
| 4 | Fumigation | 10 | Wages | 350.00 | 3500.00 |
| 5 | Transplant | 30 | Wages | 350.00 | 10500.00 |
| 6 | Hilling | 30 | Wages | 350.00 | 10500.00 |
| 7 | Irrigation Equipment | one | Unit | 350,000.00 | 350000.00 |
| 8 | Technical support | 4 | months | 15,000.00 | 60000.00 |
| 9 | Lab tests | two | Unit | 15,000.00 | 30000.00 |
| 10 | Fuel and lubricants | 4 | months | 5,000.00 | 20000.00 |
| eleven | Stationery and documentation | 4 | months | 1,000.00 | 4000.00 |
| 12 | Minitubercules | 360,000.00 | Minitubercules | 10.00 | 3600000.00 |
| 13 | Land use payment | 1,500.00 | homework | 60.00 | 90000.00 |
| 14 | Storage cost | 514.00 | sacks | 500.00 | 257000.00 |
| fifteen | Unforeseen | 1.00 | Unit | 50,000.00 | 50000.00 |
| 4531000.00 |
When the production phase from pre-basic to basic is concluded, a total of 540 land tasks are necessary to continue with the project, which will be obtained on private properties in the intramontane valleys, which are located in the Park. National Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier (Valle Nuevo), for the production of the 540 tasks of land a global amount of $ RD is necessary. 22,938,000.00 (Dominican pesos), with a cost per task of $ RD. 42,477.00.
| Correlative | Description | Number | Measure | cost | Total |
| one | Cleaning | 100 | Unit | 350.00 | 35000.00 |
| two | Bed preparation | 100 | Unit | 350.00 | 35000.00 |
| 3 | Workforce | fifty | Wages | 350.00 | 17500.00 |
| 4 | Fumigation | twenty | Wages | 350.00 | 7000.00 |
| 5 | Transplant | fifty | Wages | 350.00 | 17500.00 |
| 6 | Hilling | fifty | Wages | 350.00 | 17500.00 |
| 7 | Irrigation Equipment | one | Unit | 3,150,000.00 | 3150000.00 |
| 8 | Technical support | 4 | months | 15,000.00 | 60000.00 |
| 9 | Lab tests | two | Unit | 15,000.00 | 30000.00 |
| 10 | Fuel and lubricants | 4 | months | 5,000.00 | 20000.00 |
| eleven | Trash and documentation | 4 | months | 1,000.00 | 4000.00 |
| 12 | Minitubercules | 3,240,000.00 | Minitubercules | 5.00 | 16200000.00 |
| 13 | Land use payment | 1,500.00 | homework | 540.00 | 810000.00 |
| 14 | Storage cost | 4,629.00 | sacks | 500.00 | 2314500.00 |
| fifteen | Unforeseen | 1.00 | Unit | 220,000.00 | 220000.00 |
| Total | 22938000.00 |
For the final production of "certified potato", a total of 4,860 tasks are necessary, for which it will be distributed in different agricultural fields, in order to achieve disintegration of production, reduce costs and achieve the empowerment of several producers to the project, Although it is estimated that for the area of the intramontane valleys located in the Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier National Park (Valle Nuevo), there can be an approximate of 1,500 tasks, which may be subject to the production of certified potato seed.
Together with the financial resource that rounds $ RD.28,500,000.00 (Dominican pesos), it is necessary to have other resources and logistics that are detailed below:
- One (1) Vehicle to transport technical and operational equipment, preferably four-wheel drive truck; Two (2) Large Tractors for tilling the soil with their respective harrows; One (1) Small Tractor for planting and harvesting; Two (2) water; Technical support from at least 4 professionals from the Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA) and the IDIAF; Computer equipment and furniture to implement the project coordination and monitoring office.
Phase 3: Implementation of the marketing program for "certified potato seed"
If the project is developed, under the “maximum, minimum allowable” projections, it is estimated that they will be obtained approximately in the first production cycle, it is estimated between 200,000 to 250,000 bags of potato seed, a product that under growing conditions would make it cheaper Potato production significantly, directed to strengthen the production of small, medium producers, who today have limited opportunities to integrate into the production of phytosanitary quality potatoes.
The Secretary of State for Agriculture (SEA) can establish a “Program for the Sale or Facilitation of Certified Potato Seed”, aimed at small and medium producers, without forgetting to support large producers. The implementation of this program will ensure, not only the financial self-sustainability of the potato seed production program, but also improve the productive conditions of sanitary quality and of the potato product in the Dominican Republic.
- Estimated time of project execution
Considering that currently there is already the minituberculum produced (period of 4 months), the development of three productive phases is pending, each of them between three (3) to four (4) months, due to the land preparation phases and maturation of the seed, for this reason it is established that the maximum allowable period for the development of the project is 12 calendar months from the approval of the project.
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