The Dominican Republic’s association of banana producers, Adobanano, has called on its national government for a loan of 400 million pesos (£6.2m) for farm renovations and to improve the competitiveness of the sector in the hard times it is facing.
Adobanano wants the same terms to apply in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, in October this year, as the loans that were made by the state’s autonomous agricultural-credit bank Bagrícola when tropical storms Olga and Noel both affected banana plantations nationwide back in 2007. The request was made during a meeting attended by the likes of agriculture minister Luis Ramón Rodríguez and Adobanano president Elso Jáquez.
At the meeting the minister said he would bring the matter to the attention of national president Danilo Medina and also proposed further funding from the Interamerican Development Bank.
