The FINANCIAL — The U.S. Agency for International Development launched the Feed the Future North (FTFN) project which is supported by USAID under Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. The new FTFN is an innovative project to spur economic growth in promising agricultural areas in northern Haiti while at the same time developing local firms to be direct USAID partners, according to USAID.
FTFN aims to increase agricultural incomes for at least 40,000 rural households in northern Haiti, expand financial services to local agribusinesses, stabilize watersheds that support farmland, and improve roads in some of the most fertile but inaccessible farming areas. A key project component aims to increase the number of local Haitian firms who participate as direct contracting partners, according to USAID.
“The North is a key region of Haiti. Working here on food security benefits the entire country. We will be working alongside the Ministry of Agriculture to increase agricultural production and improve farmers’ lives,” said Ambassador to Haiti Pamela A. White at the project’s announcement, which was also attended by Haiti President Michel Martelly.
The new Feed the Future North is a five-year, $88 million project that will focus on expanding farmers’ yields of primarily five key crops – corn, beans, rice, plantains and cocoa. In addition to traditional farmer support, erosion protection, and investments in agricultural infrastructure, it will seek to employ new technology – including mobile money – to make it easier for farmers and agribusinesses to manage their transactions, and cellphones to transmit market and other information beneficial to farmers. The project will ensure that both women and men benefit from FTFN interventions, according to USAID.
“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 will also unleash the potential of some excellent farming areas” he added.
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