The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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The report is divided into twelve chapters covering: 1) the cacao-growing industry, both worldwide and

local: 2) historical news about cacao, 3) production statistics and importance to the economy, 4) geographic

distribution of the cultivation of cacao, 5) climatology and soils, 6) “Species and varieties of cacao and of shade

plants,” 7) analysis of cacao and its characteristics, 8) cacao in cultural practice, 9) “Essay on the agricultural

ecology of the cacao grower,” 10) rains and harvest, 11) observations on a farm, and 12) “Parasitic and nonpar-

asitic diseases of the cacao plant.” This study, which was made in the midst of the relocation and reinstallation

of the Station and the inauguration of the College in Moca, is to this day a model study and a primary reference

source for the cacao cultivation and processing industry in the Dominican Republic. Certain chapters of this

book stand out for their current relevance, particularly those that refer to climatology and soils, rain and the

harvest, and the one that examines the

campesino

culture. Two others are especially significant: the essay on

agricultural ecology and the chapter that deals with diseases of the cacao plants.

Ciferri observed that the buyers’ demand was for quantity, but he did not consider that to be a strategy

leading to social development, since it would reproduce not only low-grade cacao but also poverty on the part

of the producer, whether a medium entrepreneur or a small

campesino

. Ciferri therefore proposed improving

the quality of the cacao because its potential was so much higher; this needed to be done with the cooperation

of the merchants, whose greater knowledge of the different classes and qualities of cacao could contribute to a

more accurate assessment and classification of the product. Thus, by betting on quality over quantity, the Re-

public would be more competitive in the market and gain a greater market share than they currently enjoyed.

This would be much more advantageous for both producers and merchants, given that they could quote a

higher price. The objective was viable. To accomplish it, the

campesino

who grew the cacao needed to share

in the enjoyment of the benefits. A fair price would provide motivation to take greater care in the process

of preparation, cultivation, harvest, and drying. Of course, the interest and cooperation of the government

would be essential to facilitate transport of the product by providing good regional and local roads, which at

that time were scarce and barely navigable.

Central Observatory of Agricultural Ecology

Moving the Station to Moca made Dr. Ciferri think about the possibility of transforming meteorological ob-

servation in the agricultural field in order to “prepare and integrate elements to agrarian ecology.” In his 1926

Report he cordially insists before the Secretary of State for Agriculture on the necessity of augmenting the

equipment available at the meteorological observatory in order to elevate it to a Central Observatory of Agri-

cultural Ecology that would work in coordination with the National Meteorological Observatory in Santo Do-

mingo and the existing substations located at various points around the country. If this were done, he states,

“together with general meteorology, agricultural meteorology has a calling to be a potent aid to agriculture.”

This “agricultural meteorology serves as the foundation for Ecology applied to agriculture, with the ability

to determine the critical periods of the plants, the phenoscopic averages, the percentages of probability of the

various meteorological phenomena for each dozen, and the decrease in production resulting from unfavora-

ble meteorological phenomena.”

In addition to the data provided by the service of the National Meteorological Observatory located in

Santo Domingo, which had a network of stations and substations in diverse provinces, the meteorological

information of the Station in Moca was complemented by a flow of statistics supplied by the different train

stations of the Dominican Central Railroad. With this, it was possible to make a comparative follow-up of the

rainfall and temperature at different points around eastern and central Cibao, just as it appears in the annual

reports of the National Agronomic Station. Nevertheless, the new proposed development in the direction of

a true “agricultural meteorology” would provide more specific observations, with important implications for

development in forestry and agriculture. To that end, Director Ciferri requested six “necessary automatic

self-recording devices,” to wit: 1) Thermograph for air and soil; 2) Atmometer; 3) Pyranometer; 4) Pluvio-