Last April, Humidtropics’ Central America and the Caribbean team visited Haiti as a first step towards organizing ideas and strategies to begin the Program’s implementation in the Haiti-Dominican Republic cross-border region Action Site. The team contacted potential partners to work and explore one of the country’s territories of Départements du Nord and Nord-Est, as well as to develop ideas about future actions in the area.
The team’s main objectives during this visit were to learn and receive feedback about the ongoing actions by organizations that are active in the area, as well as the work being conducted by local organizations who have relationships with cooperation organizations. Among these institutions were Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Vétérimed, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR), Heifer International, Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF), RECCOCARNO, and FECCANO.
Humidtropics was also able to learn about territorial dynamics of the local business and markets through interviews with the public sector (Ministry of Agriculture) and the private sector (cooperatives involved in value chains predominant in the area, including coffee, cocoa and milk), as well as the realities of farm families and rural businesses in the area through field visits organized and supported by farmers’ organizations.
Throughout the meetings, Humidtropics established important links with farmer organizations and cooperatives, as well as the public and private sectors, all of whom were eager to learn about the Program’s proposal and identify opportunities for collaboration. Some of the opportunities mentioned by partners include LWR’s involvement with coffee and cocoa value chains, as well as Heifer’s involvement with livestock, particularly pigs and goats.
Issues observed during field visits include the low volume of cash crops being exported, due in part to pricing problems and low export benefits not measuring up to high certification costs. There is also a need for farm families to understand cash flow and natural resource management, with apparent problems such as diseased crops, soil degradation, and little tree coverage.
Next steps include replicating the experience in Dominican Republic and defining the Field Sites within the Haiti-Dominican Republic Action Site to conduct the Situational Analysis and begin Program implementation. The strategic partners identified include AVSF, MARNDR, Heifer, LWR, Vétérimed, RECCOCARNO, FECCANO, FENAPOLA, CRS, and USAID.
Blog by Shadi Azadegan, Communication Specialist for Central America and the Caribbean, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). Photos by Falguni Guharay, Scientist Research for Development, CIAT.Â