Wednesday, two financing conventions were signed between Wilson Laleau, Minister of Economy and Finance and the French Development Agency (AFD) in the presence of the Ambassador of France and the acting Chargé d'affaires of the Union European.

This financing will enable the implementation of a large project to support agricultural production and food security (SECAL) in the Southern Department. For a toital amount of 11,670,000 euros, this funding complete the 4.5 milliions euros already granted to SECAL project in July 2012.

The project "will help increase agricultural production of corn, eggs and plantains and reduce rural poverty through better redistribution of added value for producers."

Farmers, ill be supported through several actions. For bananas sector in the Department of West, the project will address two main constraints of production: irrigation management and disease control. In the South, the Avezac irrigation system will be restored and the irrigators associations supported to promote better management of water resources. Corn producers will receive subsidies in the form of vouchers for seeds, plowing and fertilizers. Finally, the egg producers will receive for their part advice for access to funding and technical support.

A part of the production will be provided to school canteens in the South under the National School Feeding Programme. Tens of thousands of students will benefit from an improved corn and egg meal.

The plain of Les Cayes, located in the Southern Department, has been identified as a priority area of ​​intervention by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) for the implementation of the project SECAL. With more than 200,000 inhabitants and 20,000 hectares of arable land, it is one of the most important areas of the country of maize production.

The project will be managed by the Departmental Directorate Agricultural South (SADD), a decentralized structure of the Ministry of Agriculture.

HL/ HaïtiLibre