The Governor of the Central Bank (BCRD), Héctor Valdez Albizu, and the Minister of Agriculture, Límber Cruz López, reviewed the performance of the agricultural sector in the Dominican Republic in a meeting in which the creation of a data transmission system was proposed. between the two institutions.
With this system, both entities seek to carry out analysis and technical evaluations that lead to the creation of new strategies that optimize the productivity and efficiency of this important activity for the country.
Límber Cruz said that his institution is currently carrying out a strategic evaluation of data with the advice of the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States (NASS), but that the consolidation of the benefit in obtaining information would only be possible with the intervention of the BCRD, an institution that has reached an optimal level in field work, study and diagnosis of data in different areas.
Likewise, the minister pointed out that the support granted by the Central Bank for its credibility would provide a fundamental added value to the data, since it would mean a first-order asset for the execution of new guidelines that elevate the agricultural sector to new levels of performance and international operability.
He pointed out that, according to the latest information available from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Dominican Republic is the only country, along with Panama, where hunger could be reduced, while in the entire region hunger increased, affecting around 56 million people.
He specified that the malnutrition index, defined as the proportion of the population whose habitual consumption of food is insufficient to provide the levels of dietary energy necessary to lead a normal, active and healthy life, fell from 8.3% in 2018 to 6.7% in 2021. The improvement in this indicator has turned the country into an international benchmark in the fight to improve the living conditions of the most disadvantaged.
Governor Valdez Albizu stressed the importance of doing a good job with the agricultural statistics tool, adapting to the international methodology, as occurs in all the work in this area developed by the BCRD.
The governor welcomed with interest the proposal made by the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, predicting that the joint work will generate new execution formulas in the agricultural sector, which will result in maximizing yields and improving the conditions of producers and their workers.
Valdez Albizu indicated that the growth rate of the agricultural sector in its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the year 2022 was 5%, highlighting that this sector plays a crucial role for the behavior of the economy, being decisive for the levels quality of life achieved by Dominicans in their daily lives.
He indicated that, according to the current forecasts of the Central Bank, the CPI would be within the target range of 4 +/- 1% by mid-2023, which would mean a great advance in the current trend of price normalization, despite having to face external circumstances such as the European war, among other challenges.
It also revealed that to obtain the consumer price index (CPI), the price survey with which the Central Bank proceeds monthly accesses more than 11,000 establishments throughout the national territory.
Valdez Albizu reiterated that the BCRD is open to receiving relevant information from the Ministry of Agriculture, valuing very positively the idea of working from the two institutions in a context of consultation and coordination.
The Minister of Agriculture was accompanied by the Vice Minister of Agricultural Sector Planning, José Rafael Paulino Rodríguez; the head of the Agricultural Cabinet, Freddy Fernández; the minister’s economic adviser, Luis Ernesto Pérez Cuevas; the director of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Karina Rosario Victtoriano; and Victor Miguel Garcia Garcia.
The governor was accompanied by the assistant manager of Monetary, Exchange and Financial Policies, Joel Tejeda Comprés; the deputy manager of National Accounts and Economic Statistics, Ramón Antonio González Hernandez; the director of the Department of Monetary Programming and Economic Studies, Joel González; and the director of the Department of National Accounts and Economic Statistics, Elina Rosario.
