Agro-business

The village of Lamardelle’s agricultural region is located in the Plaine du Cul de Sac. The objective of rejuvenating the agro business in this region is to diminish the effect of two major problems, which affect the lives of millions of Haitians, including the lives of the population in this rural village.

Our aim is to navigate around rising food and fuel costs (which have been around 50% in recent years) as well as to create new sources of revenue and employment.

Our first goal is to create food security by implementing an agribusiness pilot project.

Our second goal is to reduce the burden of deforestation through the use of extremely expensive fuels in rural areas by providing an alternative. This would be a renewable household energy source, which is environmentally friendly, inexpensive and non-threatening to food security. This will be an all-around way to improve the population’s well-being. This will directly result by way of creating new jobs and community owned micro-agro industries, thus eliminating malnutrition. This will provide a self-sustaining funding condition for community development projects such as: schools, health facilities, phyto-sanitary facilities for farmers’ families, drinking water and other infrastructural projects. Environmental advantages will thus result from diminished deforestation, erosion control and rehabilitation of soils.

Agro-business Short Term Goals

Our aim is to provide nutritious food sources for, and improve the diets of the children, youth and adults both in the crèche, the school, and in the entire community. The production of sufficient foods, such as various kinds of fruit and vegetable produce, poultry, fish, and rabbits will enable us to reach our goal of a healthy community.

The implantation of agriculture in the school system operates on a hold practice theory. The training will occur within the school setting and will be taught by two local agronomists. This practical training will provide the following:

• Women in the micro finance program that desire to improve their agribusiness skills for their own agro-business venture.
• Youth at the school who are in the remedial program and who desire an agricultural vocation orientation.
• How to protect their environment and living in an environmentally friendly community.

Agro-Business Long Term Goals

Grades 5, 6 & 7 are taught extra-curriculum activities. They are broken down into 3 different sections. They are as follows:

• A research and agricultural training center funded, managed and operated by a specialist in tropical agriculture and in the development of sustainable energy sources.
• An agricultural production center that will be for the cultivation of edible crops.
• A community development agro–industry/business center.

Objective

The objective of this project is to promote socio-economic growth and peace by providing a sustainable energy alternative for households, agri-business, food security, community development, jobs and income generating sources for rural Haiti.

As a Foundation we would like to team up long-term with a party capable of supplying funding and technology in order to render the plantation productive, which will thus improve the lives of thousands of Haitians. Our interest is not to enter solely into a profitable business venture, but also to contribute in creating a source of food security, micro enterprise, and new sources of income for the rural poor. We are happy to share and encourage other players in other parts of the world to join this initiative in working towards reducing hunger and malnutrition.