Haiti - Humanitarian : France improves food security in schools
Haiti has about 3.6 million food insecure people, including 1.5 million in critical situations. The food aid program implemented by France, aims to strengthen local production and to support the national school feeding policy.
In order to guarantee income for Haitian farmers, France has been the first partner of Haiti to allocate all of its food aid credits to a program of purchases of local products. More than 12,000 tons of local products have been purchased from 7,500 small Haitian producers between 2005 and 2015, 11,985 tons of cereals (rice and ground corn) and 55 tonnes of pulses (beans and pigeon peas).
This strategy has contributed effectively to the development of a national policy of purchasing of local agricultural products and a school feeding policy, respectively controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development and the Ministry of National Education.
In 2016, France has committed to purchase 340 tons of local products, including 300 tonnes of cereals and 40 tonnes of pulses. 50 tons were transported in emergency last month at the National Program of School Feeding (PCNS) to respond to a shortage of food and close the coverage of the canteens of the school year 2015/2016.
The diversification of local products purchased under the PCNS (cereals and pulses). also aims to improve the nutritional quality of foods offered to students to reduce vitamin deficiencies of program beneficiaries.
