Above: a farm in Haiti

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The United States Agency for International Development has launched a new project aiming to boost what it says are at least 40,000 rural households in northern Haiti.

The five-year, $88 million project, dubbed “Feed the Future North,” will largely focus on improving yields for farmers of corn, beans, rice, plantains and cocoa.

Like several other new initiatives in Haiti, the programme will use mobile money to make it easier for farmers and agribusinesses to manage their transactions, the agency said.

“Agriculture is fundamental to Haiti’s economy,” said Mark Anthony White, Acting Mission Director of USAID/Haiti. “But to be effective, assistance must develop resilience, especially in Haiti where farmers are exposed to adversities such as flooding, drought and earthquakes. The Feed the Future North project is designed to do just that. It will help Haitians put in place local systems and infrastructure to help small farmers and the overall agribusiness to be successful.”

The project, which will be led by Chief of Party Cristian Juliard, will cover six watersheds in Haiti’s north: Limbé, Haut du Cap, Grande Rivière du Nord, Trou du Nord, Marion and Jassa.

USAID has already implemented a similar project called Feed the Future West in areas outside of Port-au-Prince.