Thursday at the Administrative Complex of Cap-Haitien, the President Michel Martelly, accompanied by Thomas Jacques, Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, launched in the presence of Government officials, parliamentarians from the region and the United States Ambassador, Pamela White, the project "AVANSE".

This 5-year project of "Feed the Future" program aims to increase agricultural productivity, improving the stability of watershed above the selected plains, the strengthening of gricultural markets and capacity building are the main areas on which focuses the teams organized for the execution of this project, funded to the tune of 87.5 million U.S. dollars. Five crops are targeted: corn, rice, cocoa, banane-plantain/banane-figue and beans.

At the end of the project, farm incomes for 43,500 beneficiaries whose 7, 000 for cocoa will be doubled. In addition, rehabilitate and construct 120 km of rural roads, improve 23,000 hectares with biophysical conditions, planting 2.4 million trees and invest on the side of private sector 3.5 million U.S. dollars are the other key aspects of this project.

"I urge the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, its departmental directorates of the Great North, the local authorities and, not least, the farmers in the region, international partners, such as USAID and its implementing agency, DAI, to make this project a flagship model of cooperation in agriculture," declared the Head of State.

"This project is part of the outline of the roadmap of the Ministry of Agriculture," declared the Minister Jacques Thomas who welcomed the initiative and promised to support all agricultural enterprises.

For her part, Ambassador Pamela White, reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. Government to continue to work together with the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen the agricultural sector. "An nou avanse ansanm !", she launched.

Moreover, in Grison Garde (Plaine-du-Nord), the President Martelly, the Minister Jacques Thomas and Ambassador Pamela White, to launch the first activities of the project "AVANSE" proceeded to lay the first stone of the rehabilitation of the irrigation system in this area and of the stretch of road 6 km from Carrefour Robillard in Grison Garde.

HL/ HaitiLibre