Land preparation takes place in March for all crops. A second
crop of bean-maize requires land preparation in August. For all
systems, the land is prepared with oxen and plow or with a
machete.
 Planting is done with a machete, opening a small hole in the
soil and dropping in the seed. Seeding rates are similar in all
systems except that less bean seed is used in the bean-pigeon pea-
maize association.
 Fertilizers and pesticides are not used in these systems.
Weeding is done by hand with a machete and, in the case of
bean-pigeon pea-maize, is a continuous activity carried out by all
members of the family.
 Yields vary among the three crop mixtures and from those ob-
tained on sole crop systems. Output of bean-maize and bean-
pigeon pea is sold to middlemen. The production from the bean-
pigeon pea-maize crop mixture is consumed at home.

CONCLUSIONS
 This paper has described the small farming systems in Las
Cuevas watershed of the Dominican Republic. Several important
characteristics, some of them unique in this area, were found.
 The role of crop associations in these farming systems was a
relevant finding. For example, 82% of the maize and 90% of the
pigeon peas are grown in association with other crops. Further-
more, all output from the bean-pigeon pea-maize association is
devoted to home consumption.
 Two systems of mutual help among the farmers were also
found. One consists of the exchange of bean seed between those
harvesting in July-August and those planting in September.
The former conserve the germination quality of the seed and ob-


tain a 50% bonus, while the latter do not need cash for seed pur-
chases. The "convite" system is the means by which farmers
harvest their bean crops without incurring labor expenses.
Farmers are willing to provide their labor because they receive the
same help when they harvest their own crops.
 Peanut production, although not profitable, is carried out as a
means of obtaining cash from a loan to subsist during the period
when they do not have another feasible choice.
 Although a relatively small amount of all the land in the water-
shed is devoted to short-cycle crops, these systems produce high
rates of soil erosion that are unacceptable. Increasing population
pressures are likely to worsen this problem. The importance of
these systems to the farmers' diets preclude any policy that would
prohibit their future production. Perhaps the problem could be
alleviated by the development of improved technology that
would bring about increased production in the uplands on a
smaller land area.




References
 1. Antonini, G., K. Ewel, R. Fisher, J. Sartain, P. Hildebrand, T. McCoy, H.
 Safa and I. Russo. 1981. Integrated training and research program in natural
 resources management for the Dominican Republic with special applications for Las
 Cuevas watershed. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press.
 2. Hildebrand, P.E. 1981. Combining disciplines in rapid appraisal: the
 sondeo approach. Agr. Adm. 8:423-432.
 3. Mendenhall, W., L. Ott and R. Scheaffer. 1971. Elementary survey sampl-
 ing. Second Ed. North Scituate, MA: Dusbury Press.
 4. Ruthenberg, H. 1980. Farming systems in the tropics. Oxford, New York:
 Oxford University Press.


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