Haiti: UN agency funds job creation and food production project

The United Nations fund tasked with alleviating rural poverty today announced a $2.5 million grant in support of job creation and food production projects in areas of Haiti where survivors of the earthquake in January sought shelter after losing homes and livelihoods in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

In the days following the earthquake on 12 January, an estimated 600,000 people migrated from Port-au-Prince to rural provinces, severely straining the resources and infrastructure for the farmers living there.

In a bid to improve conditions among the host communities, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will use the grant – which will be handed over to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) – to implement an 18-month programme designed to create jobs and ensure food security. Sweden has provided $2 million as part of the grant.

The scheme involves the repair of 13 irrigation systems, the rebuilding of 12 kilometres of rural roads and assistance in building 300 community and family gardens. It will also provide around 9,000 households with seeds and tools.

It will be implemented by local women’s groups and community organizations, and provides for the training in marketing, agricultural production and gender issues. The project is estimated to generate around 200,000 days of employment.

“While the initial flood of migrants from Port-au-Prince has subsided, food security is still a critical issue. We’ve seen many people returning to the capital to look for work, but they’ve left their children behind,” said Josefina Stubbs, the director of IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean division.

“We need to find a long-lasting solution to improve food security. And the only way to do that is by giving these farmers the jobs, tools and training they need,” she said.

The project is just one of IFAD’s short-term earthquake response initiatives in Haiti. In April, its Executive Board set up a $50 million debt relief programme for the country, and in February, the Fund signed a grant agreement worth $5.66 million to support food production efforts in some of the poorest areas in northern Haiti.