MONTE PLATA, Dominican Republic. – A team of 14 students and faculty from departments of Economics and International Business and Marketing at Marquette University’s Global Business Learning will travel to the Dominican Republic from March 11-18 to provide technical assistance and set up training workshops in a partnership effort to help the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) further develop its newly-established Food Security-cooperative agricultural production in the province of Monte Plata.

In 2009, BRA received funding from the US Department of Agricultural (USDA) to create a 7000-member cooperative to establish and manage seven crop and animal productions to produce food security and economic self-sufficiency for 37,000 people languishing inside impoverished rural batey communities.

During the seven-day mission trip, local farmers and cooperative leaders, partners and producers will share their experience with the students and foreign experts and learn from them best marketing and entrepreneurial practice skills in order to competitively produce and sell their products locally as well as regionally.

BRA’s agricultural cooperative, BRAteyana, is founding member of the Centro Agronegocios Esmeralda—the country’s first agricultural business consortium through which members will structurally market and sell their agricultural products to larger markets.

Support BRA’s agricultural production by making a donation online at DONATE.