negatively impacted by broca. Broca is a small insect that bores into coffee cherries and lays eggs. The larvae feed on the bean, destroying the coffee.

Based on the CRMG producer survey, broca had far reaching effects; 98% of producers surveyed claimed to be affected by broca. Growers have means of combating the pest, including biological control using parsites and an entomopathogenic fungus, integrated pest management using insect traps, and post-harvest practices. Carefully selected pesticides are only used in emergency situations. These environmentally safe control measures have been successful, and almost 81% of producers in the CRMG survey claimed to have successfully combated broca.

# _Labor_

Small-scale farmers rely almost entirely on family labor during the year, with the exception of the harvest period. During harvest, only about 50% of labor on medium-sized farms is family labor, and lower percentages on larger-sized farms. Most production activities are conducted by males, while wives and female children often assist in harvest and post-harvest activities. Some smallscale farmers also tend to work on larger farms as wage laborers, and many work outside agriculture<sup>36</sup> .

Data on employment in coffee production and harvest/post-harvest are generally unreliable. Most coffee jobs are seasonal, and many are performed by women, children, and migrant Dominican and foreign labor. The available labor pool for coffee production and (especially) harvest has been influenced by out-migration to urban centers, especially by younger male adults.

Haitian labor has become the norm for hired labor, particularly, for clearing coffee fields and for harvest. In some areas of the country, Haitian migrants provide more than 90% of coffee harvest labor. Dependency on Haitian labor has been a source of periodic tension and conflict in some rural areas. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 part-time workers participate in coffee production and harvest. It is estimated that some 30,000-50,000 Haitians move from one region to another working for periods of two to three months in harvesting coffee.<sup>37</sup> Producers and other sources frequently cited access to adequate (low-cost) labor as an increasing problem for the coffee sector, especially harvest labor. Inadequate supplies of harvest labor may constrain movement toward increased farm sizes and increased productivity on renovated or replanted coffee plantations. While some labor-saving technologies may emerge over time, innovative means of identifying and contracting harvest labor may provide a solution to current and future labor shortages in the sector.<sup>38</sup>

# _Finance_

Direct credit for coffee producers has been limited over the years, and this continues to be the case. Long-term formal credit is limited in the Dominican Republic agricultural sector in general. Short-term and informal credit (from exporters, intermediaries, moneylenders, etc.) for coffee

> 36 The CRMG survey found that nearly 25% of families on the smallest farms received income from working on another coffee farm.  Some larger-scale producers also received coffee income off the farm, with about 14% of the >10 hectare class reporting coffee income from other’s farms. 37 Migration International (2002) gives the lower estimates and other sources give the higher estimates. 38 There are examples of contracting foreign migrant labor, such as some of the contracts that US farmers have to provide seasonal work for migrant agricultural laborers. Importantly, these contracts are also supposed to protect the rights of laborers, which is also an important issue in DR.

40