Haiti | < Latin America & the Caribbean

See also:
- Hurricane Georges Reconstruction Project
- Forest and Parks Protection Technical Assistance
- Productive Land Use Systems (PLUS)
- Monitoring and Evaluation Component of the Coffee Revitalization Project


Agroforestry Outreach I and II
Funding source: USAID

The Agroforestry Outreach Project helped improve natural resource management practices and increase Haitian farmer incomes by providing technical assistance and training in planting and maintenance of crop producing trees. Additionally, the project focused on developing reliable information on the technical, social and economic variables of deforestation in Haiti that led to the planning and implementation of project activities and informed policy development at the national and sub-regional levels.

Program activities focused on the implementation of the following components:

• Creating cost-efficient and appropriate systems for the production and dissemination of vigorous planting stock in NGO-operated, decentralized nurseries;
• Identifying and testing sustainable agro-forestry methodologies;
• Establishing and maintaining fruit and forest-product trees on Haitian small farms;
• Providing training to improve land and labor productivity; and
• Documenting and disseminating information regarding the economic and social aspects of crop and livestock associations with trees.

This research laid the groundwork for replication in development projects in Haiti and other countries around the region.

As a result of the Agroforestry Outreach program's environmentally-friendly agroforestry practices, poor rural farmers enhanced food security through increased crop production and effectively doubled their incomes. In a number of project areas food production stabilized or increased as project beneficiaries implemented project recommendations, which included reducing risk of moisture stress, improved water and soil conservation practices, and improved tree crop management. These interventions produced substantial financial returns for poor farmers, thereby effectively demonstrating that investment in conservation practices provides valuable environmental and economic benefits. As a result, private sector farmers are more willing and able to devote more effort to growing fruit and forest-product trees.