In an effort to increase the number of highly trained Haitian researchers and extension personnel, the U.S. Feed the Future initiative project "Appui à la Recherche et au Développement Agricole" (AREA), is committed to subsidizing the training at Master level of 20 Haitian students at the University of Florida (UF), University of Illinois and Louisiana State University.

A group of 12 students will be leaving Haiti on May 20th to attend English language training this summer to prepare for admission to their graduate programs at the University of Florida and Louisiana State University beginning this August. They will join two Haitian students who started their programs at UF in January. Some of the topics that the students will research include disease and pest management in rice and sorghum, optimizing water use efficiency, nutrient management and post-harvest technologies for major food crops, and climate smart production techniques to optimize crop productivity. The remaining 6 students are expecting to leave Haiti in the coming fall.

One of the students will be working under the supervision of two researchers from the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead to tackle major challenges (mainly disease and nematode) faced by banana growers in Cabaret, Arcahaie and Montrouis regions. The two researchers visited Haiti last month and met with the Vice Dean for research at FAMV and the Head of the plant production department at MARNDR to discuss their involvement in that research program.

During their graduate programs, the students will work with the public and private sector in Haiti to promote agricultural modernization, and provide research-based information and recommendations for farmers to improve food security in the country. Every graduate student will have a research professional from Haiti on their graduate committee who will provide guidance and support to their graduate research work. "Through the student research projects, we will connect agricultural experts in Haiti to the experts at our U.S. university partners," confirmed Dr. Lemane Delva, Director of Research for the AREA project. And according to Dr. Rose Koenig, a UF faculty member and Interim Director of IFAS Global "At the University of Florida our faculty looks forward to mentoring and interacting with these talented and dedicated students. Their research will provide solutions to some of the major food production challenges in Haiti and lead to improved household food security and livelihoods".

HL/ HaitiLibre