The Study on the Integrated Rural Development of Former Sugarcane Plantation Area and Final Report the Pilot Project of La Luisa Area, Monte Plata Province 5.2.7 Pilot Project for Agricultural Infrastructure Development (1) Outline of the Project The project area is located along the national road No.1, Santo Domingo – Monte Plata road, however there are no passable access roads inside the farming area distributed. Farm road development together with drainage improvement aims to improve road conditions in the farming area. The layout of the roads is shown in Table 5.8. Table 5.8 Pilot Project for Agricultural Infrastructure at La Luisa Area Item Description Quantity 1. Main Farm Road 1) Main Farm Road No.1 New construction L= 1,980m 2) Road Crossing Pipe culvert 7 no. 2. Branch Farm Road 1) Branch Farm Road – 1 New construction L= 806m 2) Branch Farm Road – 2 New construction L= 539m 3) Branch Farm Road – 3 New construction L= 697m 4) Branch Farm Road – 4 New construction L= 729m 5) Branch Farm Road – 5 New construction L= 331m Total L= 3,102m 6) Road Crossing Pipe culvert 10 no. 3. Drainage Improvement 1) Dredging drainage ditch 50m at road crossing L= 850m (2) Progress of the Project The farm roads were designed by the Study Team. IAD provided heavy machineries for construction and the Study Team was in charge of overall supervision for whole construction stages. The construction works was done between October 2002 and February 2003 during dry season. 5.2.8 Establishment of Experimental Farms (1) Outline of the Project Originally, three experimental farms were supposed to be established in La Luisa to collect basic data on the alternative crops to sugarcane. These farms were planned to be developed by the JICA Study Team and to be mainly managed and maintained by an expert dispatched by JICA to IAD. The initial plan composed of three 2-ha farms according to three soil types. Fruit trees were planned to plant in half of the area and hybrid acacia seedlings in another half for each site. However, the term of the JICA expert was unfortunately shortened and the original plan needed to be revised because the management of fruit trees was very difficult without the JICA expert. In the end, the pilot project established two experimental farms and constructed a warehouse for agricultural machinery. Two demonstration farms (2.6 ha and 2.0ha) were established after getting consent from land 5-38 The Study on the Integrated Rural Development of Former Sugarcane Plantation Area and Final Report the Pilot Project of La Luisa Area, Monte Plata Province owners to use as an experimental farm. The larger farm was located next to the JICA-IDIAF Fruit Tree Gene Bank Plot and divided into halves: one part for hybrid varieties of Acacia Mangium (A. mangium x A. Auriculiformis) and the other part for Tahiti Lemon and guava seedlings. The smaller farm, which was next to the Ozama River, was fully planted with the hybrid varieties of Acacia on 13th and 14th October 2002, after the flooding season finished. These plantings were monitored by IDIAF and Sub-Secretaría de Estado de Recursos Forestales (SSERF). (2) Progress of the Project In January 2003, some livestock farmers cut the wire of the fence of the smaller farm plot with the Acacia trees and animals damaged about 80% of planted crops. A JICA expert worked with SSERF repaired the fence and planted seedlings again. In February or March, two cows jumped into the farm and damaged some Acacia trees so the JICA expert replanted seedlings again. Based on the field observation on May 20, 2003, the growth of the Acacia seedlings varied from place to place. In the larger experimental plot, some Acacia trees grow up to 2-3 meter height. On the other hand, the Acacia trees along the Ozama River are generally smaller (some of them are about 0.5 meter height), probably because most seedlings were replanted after the damages by cattle in January and the competition with other plants is more severe due to vigorous weed growth there. As for fruit trees, most lemon and guava seedlings are taking roots into the soil and the tree height is about 1-2 meter for all of them. Some of the lemon trees have disease symptoms but the growth of guava trees looks good there. 5.3 Model Area of Group B : Los Hatillos I Area 5.3.1 Natural Conditions (1) Topography and Geology Los Hatillos I at the foot of Eastern Mountains, which belongs to Hato Mayor Province in the east of the Dominican Republic, is located at the 4km southeast of Hato Mayor where is the seat of the provincial office and at the 33km north of San Pedro de Macoris which is one of the principal cities in the country. The farmlands of the area are at longitude 69°13’ W and latitude 18°44’ N. The farmland areas are gently undulated hills within 60m to 100m in altitude. The area mainly consists of igneous rocks in the Cretaceous. (2) Meteorology The climate data of Hato Mayor meteorological station indicate that there is 1,600-mm annual rainfall in average. From April to November, it rains more than 100-mm per month and the rainfall exceeds 200-mm in May, August, September and October. Even in dry season, there is more than 50-mm rainfall. The maximum 24-hour rainfall, 237.3 mm, was recorded in August 1979. The average temperature ranges from 30 to 34 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature is between 18 5-39 The Study on the Integrated Rural Development of Former Sugarcane Plantation Area and Final Report the Pilot Project of La Luisa Area, Monte Plata Province and 22 degree Celsius. Annual average temperature is 26.2 degree Celsius. The vegetation map indicates that Los Hatillos is a part of subtropical humid forest and there is rich natural vegetation around the study area. Table 5.9 Climate Data - Hato Mayor Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Rainfall (mm) 65.8 45.5 63.2 133.3 230.1 156.8 113.7 212.8 203.5 228.6 115.0 66.2 1,634.5 Temp.-Max. (degree) 30.4 30.7 31.8 32.3 32.7 33.5 33.9 34.0 33.5 32.8 31.6 30.5 - Temp.-Avg. (degree) 24.1 24.3 25.2 25.8 26.8 27.5 27.7 27.7 27.4 26.9 25.8 24.7 - Temp.-Min. (degree) 17.8 17.8 18.6 19.4 20.9 21.6 21.6 21.5 21.4 21.0 20.0 18.9 - Note: Rainfall:1974-1990, Temperature:1953-1987 Source: Oficina Nacional de Meteorologia (3) Water Resources and Groundwater Because the area is hilly, there are no rivers that can be tapped for irrigation. There are some streams in farms but the water amount is limited. Groundwater development is also difficult due to the geological condition of the area that the impermeable igneous rocks appeared at shallow depth of ground. In residential areas, there are some shallow wells but they are not used for potable water because of bad water quality. (4) Soil The soils originated from the weathered igneous rock are loamy. The depth of soil on the ridge of hills is shallow and not suitable for crop farming. Some areas along the streams keep relatively thick soil because of sedimentation charged by the erosion of soils at the hilly area. Intensive crop farming is possible even though the kind of farming depends upon the thickness of soil. Based to the survey for farmland zoning done by SEA in September 1999, the area around Los Hatillos is classified into V (relatively low productivity and poor drainage but possible to increase productivity). 5.3.2 Socio-Economic Conditions (1) Demography The population of Los Hatillos, according to the 1993 Census, is 70 because the settlement had not been implemented. The ONE estimates that the population growth rate of Hato Mayor Province is about 1.1% per year. Based on the investigation of the Study Team, the population of Los Hatillos is estimated to be 2,705 in 2001. (2) Income and Expenditure The ONAPLAN “Focusing on Poverty” survey indicates that the share of poor households in Los Hatillos is 100%, and 78.9% in Hato Mayor as a whole. The household survey of this Study shows that an average monthly personal income is RD$3,450, which is slightly lower than the average monthly household income of RD$4,285. The minimum wage is now 5-40 The Study on the Integrated Rural Development of Former Sugarcane Plantation Area and Final Report the Pilot Project of La Luisa Area, Monte Plata Province officially set between RD$2,075 to RD$3,415 depending on the size of company. Thus, the income of Los Hatillos is a little higher that the minimum wage. (3) Industry Structure 1) Agriculture and Animal Husbandry The agricultural activity of Los Hatillos I composes both crop farming and livestock and they are extended in mixed 179 plots and 551 ha (8,770 tareas). Major crop fields are distributed around gentle slope areas along Chocolate Stream (Arroyo) and its branches. Large private farms are located around the settlement area. Huge sugarcane fields are still operating in the vicinity. The cultivation of upland rice is typical in Los Hatillos I. Interviewing survey revealed that the upland rice was introduced from Los Haitises where most settlers had lived before.