Strengthening agroforestry systems in smallholder Dominican farms

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Altair Rodriguez’s demonstration farm in La Vega Province, Dominican Republic

In August 2017, Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer Tom Gaman traveled to the Dominican Republic to support the agroforestry efforts of Altair Rodriguez’s demonstration farm.

Located in La Vega Province, Finca Tierra Negra is a 66 hectare farm that is made up by partially-shaded cacao trees grown primarily under a broken canopy of nitrogen-fixing native (e.g.Erythrina) and non-native trees (e.g. African Tulip). Much of farm sits on land that was previously used to produce conventional plantain (Musa paradisiaca) and cassava (Manihot esculenta). 

The land is also susceptible to excess concentrations of pesticides and inorganic fertilizer runoff emanating from nearby farms. There are also a series of non-organic crops in the farm that have been neglected for years, and are hampering the ability of the Rodriguez family from obtaining organic production. Altair and her family are currently trying to integrate more organic agro-forestry systems at Finca Tierra Negra. With these systems in place, they hope to restore and improve soil quality, increase production, and generate a higher and more diversified income base for the family and the surrounding community that benefits from the demonstration plots.


With these challenges in mind, the purpose of Tom Gaman’s assignment was to help the farm complement the farm’s existing base of cocoa trees, permaculture systems, and nursery with more robust agroforestry systems. As part of these efforts, Tom carried out an extensive forest inventory of the demonstration farm, which included using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in order to inform the long-term agroforestry implementation and monitoring plan for the property. Based on his field observations, Tom and Altair discussed ways to put in place a diverse set of financially-viable climate-smart crops, such as breadfruit and locally-appropriate spices (e.g. turmeric). Prior to ending his assignment, Tom also generated a series of practical recommendations that Altair and her family can use to incorporate new agroforestry systems into their farm. 

 These recommendations included:
  1.  The use the GIS tools and agroforest inventory plots established during the assignment to inform on-site management decisions (e.g. planting locations & species combinations) 
  2. Based on GIS maps and inventory, continue to develop a business plan and financial spreadsheet that includes projections for the next 5 years.
  3. Maintain cacao cultivation and production with nitrogen-fixing trees.
  4.  Prior to harvest, survey or monitor the most productive cacao trees. This will facilitate monitoring and assessment of changes in productivity and to eliminate/replace unproductive trees.
  5. Experiment with different products such as pepper, turmeric, breadfruit and spices, using windbreaks and symbiotic out plantings.

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