The Dominican Republic is placing food systems transformation at the center of its development agenda — starting in one of the country’s most important agricultural regions.
In San Juan, where fertile land and farming livelihoods sustain communities across the Yaque del Sur basin, a new joint effort between the Government of the Dominican Republic and the United Nations is beginning to take shape. Backed by the Joint SDG Fund, the initiative aims to strengthen food security, climate resilience, and sustainable agricultural production through a coordinated territorial approach rooted in local realities.
Led by the Ministry of the Presidency, the Technical Secretariat for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (SETESSAN), and the Plan San Juan programme, the initiative brings together national institutions, provincial authorities, communities, and the UN system around a shared vision: building a more resilient and inclusive food system for the future.
Implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Food Programme, and United Nations Environment Programme, with International Fund for Agricultural Development, under the strategic coordination of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in the Dominican Republic, the joint programme represents a USD 2 million investment over two years.
A Mission That Went Beyond Meetings
The technical mission to San Juan was not simply a launch exercise.
Over three days, representatives from UN agencies, government institutions, and territorial actors traveled across communities, schools, and productive areas to understand the realities shaping the province’s food system. The mission focused on strengthening territorial coordination, validating priorities on the ground, and identifying where interventions could have the greatest impact.
At the Provincial Government Office, ministries and local institutions connected to agriculture, environment, education, water management, social protection, and emergency response systems gathered around the same table. The process became one of the first major exercises in interinstitutional coordination for the programme.
But the most important conversations happened far beyond the meeting rooms.
Where Water Scarcity Shapes Daily Life
In La Jagua, one of the province’s most vulnerable communities, residents described what it means to live through prolonged drought without reliable access to water infrastructure.
Water shortages are affecting both household life and agricultural production, placing growing pressure on livelihoods and local food systems. During the visit, technical teams identified access to water as one of the most urgent challenges threatening long-term resilience in the territory.
The mission also revealed broader tensions affecting communities across the basin. Residents raised concerns about the social and environmental impacts linked to mining activity in parts of the upper and middle watershed, underscoring how food systems are deeply connected to territorial governance and natural resource management.
Schools at the Center of the Food System
The programme’s vision extends beyond farms and agricultural production.
During visits to schools in Higueñito, Cañafistol, and San Pablo, technical teams observed both the challenges and possibilities connected to nutrition, food education, and community resilience. Some schools continue preparing meals under difficult conditions, while others have already begun building healthier and more sustainable environments through school gardens and local food initiatives.
The visits also highlighted opportunities to strengthen school feeding systems while connecting local agricultural production to public procurement pathways. Discussions explored how schools could become entry points for healthier diets, technical training, and stronger local economies.
Building Solutions Around the Territory
Across communities including Boca de los Arroyos and Higueñito, local farmers and community actors shared insights into the realities shaping agricultural production in the basin.
The discussions reinforced a key lesson: food systems transformation cannot rely on standardized solutions. Production models, crops, and interventions must reflect the environmental and social conditions of each territory.
That territorial approach is central to the programme’s design.
San Juan plays a strategic role in the Dominican Republic’s agricultural economy, yet the province is increasingly exposed to climate variability, water stress, and rural vulnerability. Strengthening resilience in the Yaque del Sur basin is therefore not only a local priority, but part of a broader national effort to secure food systems and livelihoods for the future.
From Coordination to Transformation
The mission concluded with technical debriefings and planning discussions focused on the next phase of implementation, including territorial diagnostics, institutional focal points, producer mapping, and strategies to strengthen coordination across sectors.
The initiative aligns closely with the Dominican Republic’s National Development Strategy and the Government’s Zero Hunger agenda, while also reflecting the broader role of the Joint SDG Fund in supporting integrated, country-led solutions.
By bringing together multiple UN agencies, government institutions, communities, and territorial actors under one coordinated framework, the programme aims to demonstrate how catalytic investments can help countries move from policy ambition to systemic transformation.
And in San Juan, that transformation is beginning where it matters most — in the communities themselves.
Originally published by the UN in the Dominican Republic.
Note:
This joint programme is supported by the Joint SDG Fund in collaboration with the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
