Bill MacDonald, Horticulture professor at Niagara College reports that progress is going well in the Dominican Republic, where Niagara College has been working with the local coffee association, ASOCAES, in the town of Los Cacaos. Coffee production has declined significantly due to coffee rust and there is a great need to diversify the local economy.
Earlier this year GGS donated a small structure for use in greenhouse pepper production. Originally, wooden greenhouse structures have been used in Los Cacaos, but the poly blows off very easily ruining the crop below, so a solution was needed. With the help of Landscape professor Mike Hoekstra, the students built the structure over the summer in order to gain experience in construction of this type of greenhouse structure.