The International Pineapple Symposium will be held in the Dominican Republic for the first time. This will be the tenth installation of the event, and will be held from April 22nd through 26th, 2020. The event is hosted by ASOPROPIMOPLA, a non-profit association with the purpose of contributing to the development and improvement of the living conditions of the members in their community – politically, economically, socially, and culturally.
The event’s organizing committee is formed by the Presidency of the Dominican Republic, the Agriculture Ministry of the Dominican Republic, the Agricultural and Forestry Development Center (the institution in charge of the coordination of the event), the Pineapple Producers Association from Monte Plata (ASOPROPIMOPLA) and the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research.
ASOPROPIMOPLA: A pineapple association
“We work in one of the poorest areas in the Dominican Republic, and have provide an abundance of employment opportunities in the area with 40 direct workers, 150 indirect works and 392 producers, including many women. Every grower is akin to a social partner and all of the products are produced according to singular specifications and standards,” Priamo Molina explains.
Showing the Dominican Republic’s potential to the world
The international pineapple symposium is held every three years, and last time it was held in Cuba. Joelin Santos, ASOPROPIMOPLA’s president, explains what they hope to gain from hosting the event. “We had to put together a proposal, and we were the ones who shows the most purpose in our proposal. Hosting this event allows us to show the world what we have to offer – which is good volumes of high quality pineapple,” Santos says.
He continues: “We want to show the world that the Dominican Republic is in interesting origin. We want to expand our association and work with more farmers and producers. By hosting this event, we can show the world that they can benefit from working with us. Another really important aspect is that we will be able to show the world that we are interested in doing the right things to grow clean, grow with great quality, and that we are interested in growing the sector here in the Dominican Republic.”
Growth in the pineapple sector
The Dominican Republic has been experiencing tremendous growth in the pineapple sector, and this makes the country the perfect location for the upcoming symposium. “We have more than doubled our operations compared with two years ago. Our association already has 1000 hectares, and there’s many other growers here that also have large operations. Being a part of this symposium will help us to reach our goals – to grow our hectares and quantities. We have been growing exponentially, and this is just the beginning. We also have been fortunate with our location, which means we are positioned for easy logistics and have a wonderful climate which helps us produce high quality pineapples,” Santos shares.
The symposium
“Protection and management of biodiversity: A concern for agriculture in the 21st century” is the theme of the tenth International Pineapple Symposium. It will be held in the beautiful coastal town of Uvero Alto. The event is organized by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), whose objective is to promote and foster the investigation and education of each of the branches of horticultural science and to facilitate the cooperation and transference of knowledge on a global scale through symposiums and congresses, publications and the scientific method.
Registration for the event is still open, and can be done here.
To see the entire schedule of events planned for the symposium, click here.
For more information: 
Joelin Santos
Asopropimopla
Tel: +1 809 284 1432
Email: j.santos@asopropimopla.org
www.asopropimopla.org