ed on data acquired in the Laguna Salada case studies; yields are
the averages of those obtained by survey farmers working in good
production conditions. The respondents in the AAR survey
research were classified in four categories according to their most
important production conditions. Here, the yields of ratoons and
second crops in the top category are used.
 From the data it appears that ratooning is five times more pro-
fitable than sowing a second crop. However, it must be said that
the ratoon yields presented in the table, at some 80% of those of
the sown crop, are relatively high. Nevertheless, even with yields of
only 2.41 tons/ha in a ratoon, benefits would still equal those of a
second crop.
 Because the investments and the risks of losses in case of crop
failure are significantly less in ratooning, and a lot less work is in-
volved (if only in looking for and supervising machinery and labour
for land preparation and transplanting), the farmers' preference for
ratooning is obvious.

Marginal Production Systems-the "Riso" and the "Mateo"
 Actually, the "riso" can be considered as a sort of ratoon. It dif-
 fers from a "normal" ratoon in that the rice plants are left to
 sprout anew after the first harvest without being cut close to the
 ground. As a consequence, new shoots appear from the upper
 nodes, and not from the basal parts of rice plants. The result is
 the rapid development of a second crop, with yields up to 1.5
 tons/ha. Usually no inputs are used, although some farmers may
 apply a few sacks of fertilizer. Capital investment is minimal, and
 sometimes nil, as harvesting is often paid in kind rather than
 cash.
 Farmers practice a "riso" if there is no need or possibility for land
 preparation in a period of up to two months after the harvest -the
 time it will take for a "riso" to mature. Thus, in a period that other-
 wise would be unproductive, some additional rice is produced with
 a minimum investment. A "riso" is considered by farmers as just
 that: a way to obtain some extra rice and income in an otherwise
 slack period. It is not considered an alternative to growing a second
 crop or to ratooning. Nevertheless, in poor production conditions
 in which ratooning is not likely to result in reasonable yields, a
 "riso" is practised as a substitute for a ratoon-but only in those
 cases where growing a second crop is impossible.
 As is to be expected from the above, "risos" are most common
 in El Aguacate among those farmers who only sow one crop a
 year. From the survey data it appeared that in some 32% of cases
 of farmers sowing only one crop a year, a "riso" had been
 "caught." This figure indicates that in El Aguacate the latter is
 much more common than the ratoon, which was only practised in
 about 12% of the instances of single cropping.
 Another way of obtaining a second crop, although much less
 frequently encountered than either retofo or "riso," is the
 "mateo." A "mateo" is obtained through letting seed of the local
 tall variety Ingles, germinate and develop in an already establish-
 ed crop. Also, farmers may broadcast Ingles seeds in the
 established crop when it is about three months old. In both cases
 the very strong germinating capacity of Ingls assures that, even
 in the already established crop, seedlings will develop. After the
 harvest of the first crop, the Ingls plants have the chance to
 develop fully and yield a second crop. Since Ingles is a photosen-
 sitive variety, the duration of the "mateo" depends on the time
 the first crop is established and the Ingles seed is broadcast.
 The "mateo" is only found in the Nagua region. It is usually
 practised when the first crop is established very late in the
 year -for instance in the month of July. This late date will make
 double cropping impossible, certainly if the farmer wants to start
 the first cropping cycle of the next year on time, in March-April.
 Since a ratoon is not feasible either, because of less favourable


production conditions, the farmer may return to a "mateo." Since
Ingles matures in January, this leaves the opportunity to obtain a


"riso" from the "mateo." Ingles, as a photosensitive variety, can-
not be used for ratooning. Nevertheless, because of the short
period it takes to mature, it does yield a "riso."
 Yields from a "mateo" are usually slightly higher than those
from a "riso." In the case studies, yields varying from 0.7 to 2.0
tons/ha were reported (Doorman, 1983, page 135).
 In conclusion, both the "mateo" and the "riso" can be seen as
adaptations to unfavourable production conditions. They are
usually practised because farmers have or had to wait for
machinery and land preparation, water, or both. Both systems are
considered by farmers to be a way to obtain some extra income
and/or rice for home consumption, not as attractive substitutes
for a second crop or a ratoon.
 The production system based on ratooning, the "mateo" and
the "riso," are depicted in Diagram 2.
 A schematic overview of all the production systems discussed in
this paper, in relation to farmers' production conditions, is
presented in Table 3.

TABLE 1: Reasons for preference for ratooning in the Laguna Salada Land Reform
Project, Dominican Republic.

 Reason* No. of Times Mentioned %
 Higher profits/lower
 production costs 23 34.9
 No need for credit 9 13.6
 Less work 20 30.3
 No need for land preparation 8 12.1
 Other 6 9.1
 Total 66 100.0

 *Each respondent was given the opportunity to give two reasons for his preference
 Source: Survey of Adaptive Agricultural Research Project (1983/1984).



 TABLE 2: Costs and benefits of a second crop and a ratoon in the Laguna Salada
 area.

 Second Crop Ratoon

 Production costs (RD$/ha) RD$ 964.50 RD$ 359.35
 Yields (Tons/ha) 3.86 3.10
 Production value per ton (RD$) RD$ 273.50 RD$ 273.50
 Gross production
 value (RD$/ha) RD$1055.71 RD$ 847.85
 Net production
 value (RD$/ha) RD$ 91.21 RD$ 488.50

 Sources: Production costs (without counting farmer's own labour:
 AAR case studies; yields: AAR survey, category A farmers.



 TABLE 3: Rice production systems employed in the Mao and Nagua Regions in
 relation to farmers' production conditions.

 Production Conditions Mao Nagua
 Ratoon
 GOOD Double Cropping Double Cropping

 Double Cropping Double Cropping
 FAIR Ratoon Ratoon, Mateo

 Single Cropping
 POOR Ratoon and Riso


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