50% of farmers changed crops in the last five years due to production problems

50% of farmers changed crops in the last five years due to production problems

This is evidenced in the Puerto Rican Farmer Profile Study

San Juan, Puerto Rico. August 3, 2023. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), presented the results of The Puerto Rican Farmer Profile Study, whose main objective was to collect information, data and statistics about farmers, their crops and incentives received by the Department of Agriculture, the federal government or the private sector. This was done as part of the Food Production and Demand Index Institute project for Puerto Rico. Among the most important aspects included in the survey are the collection of sociodemographic information, and possible barriers and challenges currently faced by farmers in Puerto Rico. In the same way, the study that can be accessed at Agriculture, under the “Farmer Profile” menu or tab, includes some comments from the farmers surveyed.

As for the Socio-Demographic Data obtained:

• 66% of the farmers who participated in the survey identified themselves as men.
• On the other hand, 34% of those who participated in the survey identified themselves as women.
• The age group most represented by the farmers who participated in the survey was 55-59 years old.

• 35% of the farmers who participated indicated that they had a baccalaureate degree.
• 27% of the farmers who participated in the survey indicated that they had an annual income between $25,000 and $49,999.

Related to the Agricultural infrastructure the following data were obtained:

• 85% of the study participants identified themselves as farmers, while 14% identified themselves as farmers and 1% as others.
• 42% of the study participants indicated that they had been in the agricultural industry for more than 10 years and 34% indicated that they had been in the agricultural industry for 1 to 6 years.
• In the farinaceous sector, the most harvested product was bananas followed by green guineos (45% and 29%, respectively).
• In the fresh fruit sector, 30% of the participants reported harvesting coffee.
• In the fresh vegetable sector, 30% of the participants indicated that they are dedicated to the harvest of vegetables.
• In the herbs and spices sector, 7% of the participants indicated that they are dedicated to the coriander harvest.
• 85% of farmers reported using cell phones for their business.
• On the other hand, 76% of farmers reported using internet service and 63% using computers for their business.
• 60% of farmers indicated that they sell or distribute their produce directly to the consumer and 30% indicated that they sell or distribute their products on other farms.
• The agricultural region with the highest participation in the survey was that of Caguas, with a participation of 20 people.
• On the other hand, the agricultural region with the lowest representation in the survey was that of San Germán, with a participation of 9 people.

About the Economic incentives and aid provided to farmers the following data were obtained:

• 74% of farmers indicated that they had not received financial support from the government. While 85% indicated that they had not received support from private companies. 26% of farmers indicated that they had received financial aid from the government.
• 47% of farmers indicated that they had received some incentive or financial support from the federal government due to a natural disaster.
• 40% of farmers indicated that they had received some incentive or financial support from the federal government due to the pandemic (COVID-19) event.
• On the other hand, 53% indicated that they had not received incentives or financial support for a natural disaster and 60% because of the pandemic from the federal government.
• 53% of farmers said they had not received any support or services for the following categories: purchase of machinery, purchase of materials, rental of machinery, any technical assistance, credit or financing, obtaining insurance, marketing or processing or transformation of their products.
• Of those farmers who indicated that they had received some type of service or support, 22% indicated that they had received it for the purchase of machinery.

As for the Barriers and difficulties faced by farmers, these indicated:

• During the period of 2020-2021, 73% of the farmers interviewed indicated that the biggest barrier they presented in their business was high material costs.
• In addition, 59% indicated that they faced problems due to lack of employees.

• On the other hand, 54% reported having problems in their business due to weather events.

• 64% of farmers indicated that the biggest cause of their losses due to weather events was due to hurricanes.
• 50% of farmers indicated that they had to change crops in the last 5 years due to production problems.
• 47% of farmers indicated that they had to change their cycle or season to plant in the last 5 years.
• Among the farmers who participated in the study, the majority mentioned having difficulties when going to the Department of Agriculture in the service area.

“Knowing the needs of our farmers will help us promote and improve local agriculture and strengthen our food security. For this reason, we are extremely pleased with the data obtained in this study, which will serve, among other data, as a basis for justifying various initiatives that improve food production in Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier Flores, executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

The study, which was carried out through an electronic platform to farmers over 18 years of age, was carried out from May 30, 2023 to June 27, 2023 and 160 responses were received, of which 108 (68%) were considered valid. The electronic questionnaire used mixed methods, where both quantitative and qualitative information was collected.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally.

On Puerto Rico's Agricultural Production Statistics and Index, interested parties can visit the multiple sections on the portal: Agriculture.

To learn more about the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, you can access the website at www.estadisticas.pr.gov and on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Date: August 2, 2023

To amend Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13 and 21, add a new Article 22 and renumber Article 22 as Article 23 of Law 209-2003, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics Act”, for the purpose of making technical amendments; providing that the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico may request, accept and receive donations; establish that the sums collected by this concept may be used to defray the operating and operating expenses of the Institute and the statistical activities that the Institute to determine; provide for the power of the Board of Directors of the Institute to approve the acquisition of equipment, materials and services whose value exceeds one hundred thousand ($100,000) dollars; provide that the Board of Directors shall have as part of its duties and powers the authority to adopt the ethical standards applicable to any person who works in the statistical units of government agencies or who advises, intervenes or collaborates with the Statistical Production Service of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; clarify the obligations of government agencies regarding the submission of statistical information to the Institute; to provide that the Governor will include in the model budget the calculations for the current expenses of that Institute, without reviewing them, to guarantee its fiscal stability; create the Program of Academies and Workshops of the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico; establish a certification system for continuing education as a requirement for occupying and remaining in a position or position, or offering external consulting or advice; ordering the Institute to prepare the forms necessary for notification by government agencies, and for other related purposes.

551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

As presented in the most recent Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS) established at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, presented data from the Puerto Rico Violent Deaths Report for the year 2020. The report reports that in 2020, there were 729 incidents of violent deaths, with a total of 790 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 551 were homicides and 210 were suicides. According to the PRVDRS, violent deaths occur primarily through homicide or suicide.

In 2020, 69.8% of victims of violent deaths were reported in single or multiple homicide incidents and 26.6% were suicide incidents. Four homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in eight fatalities. In addition, four violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (0.5%) and 19 violent deaths with undetermined intent (2.4%) were documented during this period.

In 2020, approximately nine out of 10 victims of violent deaths (89.0%) were men. The crude homicide rate was 24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, 45.2 in men and 4.9 in women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. Approximately, nine out of 10 homicides (88.9%) involved a firearm. 89.6% of these deaths occurred in men and 83.7% in women. The proportion of homicides of women with firearms in 2020 is the highest since 2000. Homicide rates by sex in age groups between 15 and 39 years reflect that in these age groups, 72.7% of all homicides occur in men and 61.2% in women. The most common criminal circumstances of homicides in Puerto Rico are related to illegal drug trafficking and organized crime.

In 2020, 68 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Most of these cases were related to violence in an intimate partner or former partner environment (17 cases, 25.0%) and 31 additional victims related to intimate partners or third parties involved in an intimate partner conflict (45.6%). In turn, violence between family members (20 cases, 29.4%), occurred mainly during an argument (50.0%). The majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (76.5%) who were fatally assaulted by their former partner or former male spouse (61.5%) or current partner or spouse (38.5%). In addition, three of the women victims of intimate partner violence were homicide-suicide incidents (23.1%).

As for suicides in Puerto Rico, the report highlights that the frequency is lower than that of homicides. However, as in homicides, suicides are more frequent in men (84.8%). In 2020, the crude suicide rate was 6.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, 11.4 in men (one of 124 men) and 1.9 in women (one of 765 women). The risk of suicide in men was six times greater than the risk of suicide in women. Most suicides occurred by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation (64.3%), followed by firearms (16.7%).

Mariluz Bezares, manager of statistical projects at the Institute of Statistics and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS, explained that the collection of this type of data could involve fieldwork that takes more than two years from the time the incident occurs until the collection and review of the data is completed. “This system is a reliable, complete and unique reference source that helps describe the context of violent deaths in the victim-aggressor relationship and the magnitude, trend and characteristics of violent deaths in Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Diego Zavala, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS.

For the executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, these statistics are one of the main tools to combat the phenomenon of violence in Puerto Rico. “These data, among others, serve as a basis for establishing effective measures for the prevention of violence in Puerto Rico, from multiple social, demographic and economic approaches. Our commitment at the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is to continue strengthening this statistical and epidemiological system to continue improving the quality of this type of data,” said Dr. Disdier.

The PRVDRS is an epidemiological surveillance system affiliated with the Institute of Statistics and designed to obtain a complete and standardized census of violent deaths in Puerto Rico. The PRVDRS began its participation in the National Violent Death Notification System (National Violent Death Reporting System, NVDRS) in September 2016 through a collaborative agreement granted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally. The Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico during 2020, like previous reports, is available at: Prvdrs. To learn more about the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, you can access the website at www.estadisticas.pr.gov and on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Date: July 14, 2023

To add a new Article 519 to Act No. 4 of June 23, 1971, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Controlled Substances Act”, for the purpose of maintaining a record and statistics of persons intervened and processed for the possession and/or distribution of controlled substances specifying the age, neighborhood, profession, education and marital status of the person intervened or processed and the controlled substance or substances and their respective quantity or quantities for which they were intervened, processed or being prosecuted criminally to a person.

Date: June 28, 2023

R. C. of S. 375: To order the Department of Labor and Human Resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (DTRH) to comply with the provisions of Article 7 of Law 16-2017, known as the “Puerto Rico Equal Pay Act”, which requires the Department of Labor and Human Resources to begin a statistical study on wage inequality between men and women with the purpose of using the results as a starting point to measure employers' compliance with the provisions of said law.

Date: June 21, 2023 R. del S. 716: To conduct research on the current public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico related to identifying and quantifying the existing population of patients diagnosed with some type of dementia, the accessibility and quantity of public and private services necessary to care for and treat them, as well as compliance with all laws and regulations that cover this population; and for other related purposes.