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Agriculture secretary defends gains, warns of dairy disruption and land‑authority challenges
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Summary
Outgoing agriculture leadership told the transition committee the sector saw rising production and new programs but faces immediate import/distribution risks after Suiza Dairy’s plant closure, ongoing Authority for Land arrears, and logistical barriers for school feeding and small producers.
Ramón González, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, summarized the outgoing administration’s work and warned of immediate operational risks in the dairy and coffee supply chains while outlining ongoing programs to boost local production.
González told the committee the department’s combined programs and agencies increased gross agricultural income to near $1 billion and that several initiatives—market stalls (“agricultural markets”), AgroPerfil registration, and a payroll subsidy for agricultural labor—had measurable results. He said Adea’s budget rose to about $180 million for FY25 and highlighted a $21 million USDA grant for cattle cooperative development as a recent major award.
On dairy, González described the industry as “in transformation” and said the closure of one large plant had concentrated processing in fewer facilities, creating short‑term distribution stress. He reported that private parties are interested in acquiring or operating the closed Aguadilla plant and that officials expect news on a new operator in weeks. “We are producing slightly below demand now, but production has been increasing for weeks,” he said, while cautioning that plant redundancy is essential to avoid supply disruptions.
The hearing covered multiple farm support programs. The department said its wage‑subsidy program for field laborers had an FY25 budget of about $39 million and that regional allocations and direct‑purchase tools (Adea) were used to get produce into school meal programs—where officials said sales to school feeding rose markedly from prior years but noted procurement rules and ASG processes restrict direct department purchasing and complicate timely contracts.
On coffee, González said domestic production is recovering from hurricane losses—projected near 50,000 quintales for the year after earlier lows—and described a procurement strategy that buys imported semi‑roasted coffee for inventory and uses proceeds to support local growers. He noted price protections, tariffs and purchasing rules aim to balance local producer support and consumer prices.
Addressing land and authority issues, the secretary and Authority for Land officials confirmed arrears and described collection challenges, including that many debts are municipal in origin; the authority receives roughly $7–7.8 million in income from land rentals annually. The authority said roughly 20% of tenants are in arrears or on payment plans and that eviction and formal cancellation of leases often require court proceedings.
González recommended administrative and legislative fixes for procurement bottlenecks (especially for school meals), better alignment of financial systems, and attention to Authority for Land modernization so farmland can be more readily made available to young farmers. He also highlighted investments in genetics and biotechnologies (embryo transfer, sexed semen) and pilot projects in precision irrigation and animal‑husbandry automation.
The department offered to provide additional documentation on program budgets, the status of the dairy‑processing plant discussions, and exact arrears figures on authority leases.
Next steps: Agriculture will deliver the requested tables and documentation, and the committee signaled interest in rapid follow‑up on the dairy plant status and school‑meal contracting.
