Instead of having seeds that reliably sprout, farmers fight with batches that can only grow 40 or 50 percent of the time. This not only reduces their yield and profit, but also reduces their ability to maintain their means of existence.
The organization for food and agriculture (FAO) cooperates with the Ministry of Agriculture in Haiti to change this by locating the seed economy and making members of organized seeds known as Groupements de Production Artisanale De Semens (GPAs).
“We realized that most seeds were of doubtful quality, that is, they were not adapted to certain climate conditions … and as long as they have not been properly adapted and not good quality, we will have a weak production,” said Pierrefrantz Jacques, a former farmer and one of Fao’s Seed Bank Project Managers, VN-Nieuws.
A Haiti/Daniel Dickinson
Seed banks in Haiti work to offer farmers of high -quality seeds.
There are now more than 200 GPAs throughout Haiti, which cultivate high-quality seeds to distribute to other farmers with the aim of increasing the yields of farmers and reducing dependence on foreign seed and food imports.
Especially today, these groups play an important role with more than half of the country that is confronted with emergency uncertainty of emergency foods and with agricultural production threatened by armed violence as a result of increased gang activity.
“GPAs, when supplying seeds, contributes to improving agricultural productivity and food security in communities,” said Mr. Jacques.
A start in the midst of catastrophe
About two -thirds of the population of Haiti relate to agriculture for their means of existence, most are small farmers. However, due to recent globalizing forces, these farmers produce only 40 percent of Haiti food, creating an untenable food situation, making Haiti dependent on exports.
During the past decades, various FAO programs in Haiti have worked to support seed production as an approach to reducing the trade deficit. The GPS program in particular was revived in 2010 after the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that destroyed Haiti and his agricultural sector.
© Fao/Nour Azzalini
FAO works to distribute high quality seeds in Haiti to stabilize the production of crops.
During this humanitarian crisis and while helping with emergency aid, FAO looked beyond the immediateity of the crisis and began to consider what it would mean to rebuild the agricultural sector.
“Immediately we must have resources of humanitarian aid devoted to resilience activities. You have to prepare yourself from the start,” said Pierre Vauthier, representative of FAO in Haiti.
In 2010 this meant that seed systems in Haiti were insufficient, where many farmers were dependent on external sources and varieties of low quality that penetrate the formal and informal market.
From emergency situation to resilience
This is where GPAs entered, giving them high -quality seeds of the first generation (Semens de Base) to start their companies. The groups were also trained in best practices for cultivation, harvesting and financial management.
Although this training does depend on scientific research and technological progress, it also wants to use local knowledge of ecosystems.
In this spirit, it is ultimately the GPP farmers who choose the seed varieties they want to cultivate, with many who choose local species that are already well adapted to the environment and are already part of local agricultural traditions.
“The farmers and the locals know their environment, all details. They know the type of land, the type of climate. And this knowledge is passed on from generation to generation,” said Mr. Jacques.
WFP Haiti/Theresa Piorr
Climate shocks have plagued the Haiti agricultural sector.
In addition, FAO works to provide seeds with silos and other tools to practice the correct storage. This is especially important during climate shocks, which means that farmers can better protect despite extreme weather conditions.
“We can consider the seeds as an adjustment tool that allows farmers to remain able to cultivate crops, even during extreme circumstances,” said Mr. Jacques.
Ultimately, a program such as GPAs is the core of what FAO does, said Mr. Vauthier-Ja, FAO facilitates humanitarian aid, but their real expertise lies in what comes after, when creating self-sufficient communities.
“Resilience can give communities dignity. It can make your brain think in a very different way, not as assisted, but as someone who takes over control over his own life,” Mr. Vauthier said.
One seed is important
Haiti is confronted with a long-term crisis-1.3 million people displaced, almost six million confronted with insecurity of emergency food, threatening climate shocks for which the country is poorly prepared and armed violence that brutalizing communities.
In this context it may be difficult to believe that one seed matters. But for FAO, change must sometimes be small to be sustainable locally before it is exported to the entire country. These changes may not be revolutionary, Mr. Vauthier said, but they work and they last.
According to Mr Jacques, seeds are almost the same.
“What happens is that farmers are less dependent on other people. They are able to produce their own seeds … they will contribute to strengthening autonomy and food security,” he said.
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