Make people live off
the Land sustainably
In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew, this AVSF project provides support for eight smallholder organizations (2,280 families) in Haiti's Sud and Grande Anse departments. The main priority is to stimulate production, which will create jobs and increase smallholders' incomes over the long term.
Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti in October 2016, causing major destruction: 1,000 deaths; 175,000 people left homeless; and significant damage to infrastructure, homes and natural resources. The hardest-hit areas were in Grand Anse, in the southwest, where around 70% of livestock herds were lost and 80% of crops were destroyed. Thousands of smallholder families in those areas lost everything.
AVSF believes the situation calls for a fast and coordinated humanitarian response, with a long-term focus.
The project aims to serve vulnerable families belonging to the eight organizations pre-identified for having access to aid funds (2,280 families in all).
This emergency aid will help rebuild 200 homes (most of whose roofs were destroyed), improve the nutritional situation of the most vulnerable families and revive agricultural activities to help those families continue to make a living from crop and livestock farming.
After a hurricane, farmers need to grow short-cycle crops in order to feed themselves and regain their autonomy by selling their produce so that they don't have to leave their land and move to a nearby city. This project recommends planting lima beans with a 1.5-month cycle, black beans, corn and market-gardening crops (spinach, chili, bell pepper, callaloo, carrot, etc.).
To speed up the recovery, six fruit-processing workshops will be rebuilt. Materials and equipment destroyed by the storm will be replaced, and a recapitalization fund will be set up to help the workshops revive their activities (buying raw materials, packaging, etc.). A total of 500 goats will be distributed to families (local breeds and improved breeds), and training will be provided in basic animal care. Seeds will also be distributed so that families can start growing market-gardening crops.
Hurricane Matthew has crippled the country's irrigation system, which needs to be restored to working order before agricultural production can be revived. A group of 80 people will spend 10 days clearing out and cleaning the main irrigation canal, which will help sustainably improve access to irrigation water.
The project will also encourage farmers to test improved crop varieties as well as agroecology and agroforestry techniques to reduce their dependence on chemical inputs, which only lead to long-term indebtedness.
This project aims to develop agroforestry for 850 families, particularly for cacao and mango trees. Considering the losses producers have suffered as a result of Hurricane Matthew, a system of subsidies is recommended. These measures will also encourage young people to get involved in local development, through associations or business incubators.
This project is supported by Fondation de France and AFD.