Shortage of Haitian laborers a tough blow for Dominican farmers 2 minutes read
By Manuel Perez Bella
San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, May 13 (EFE).- A group of undocumented Haitian immigrants are deported from the Dominican Republic via the northern Dajabon border crossing; in a matter of weeks, the price of a plate of rice and beans is higher in Santo Domingo.
That cause-and-effect relationship may not be readily apparent, but it makes perfect sense to farmers in the western Dominican province of San Juan, one of the Caribbean nation’s primary agricultural regions.
In its fertile valleys at the foot of the Cordillera Central mountain range, nine of every 10 rural workers are Haitian, most of whom are undocumented and easy targets of deportation campaigns.