Self-sufficiency in diet and income are key to a strong Haiti, but lack of quality seeds is a big limitation to growing food. Seed Programs International (SPI) will print 7,000 packets in Haitian Kreyol and fill them with top-quality seeds like carrot, pepper, melon, okra, and cabbage. These fresh foods can stave off malnutrition and be sold to boost income. Haitian partner AyitiKonseVet (AKV) provides agronomists to support growers. Your gift grows vegetables at 19 schools & 130 homes and farms
Three years after the earthquake, Haiti remains one of the five most malnourished countries in the world. Why? Most of the rural poor are farmers by trade and many have access to land. But they are caught in a vacuum of resources and a shattered economy where people who want to provide for themselves and their families have no basics such as tools, seeds, and water to do so. Agriculture was once the economic basis of Haitian life. It can be again. With your support, SPI and AKV can help.
SPI provides vegetable seeds so people facing hunger can grow some of the food they need. Program partner AKV (AyitiKonseVet) gives support so people use the seeds well. Topics include water access, soil fertility, seed saving, benefits of combining vegetable and animal production. For the school gardens, the vegetables provide nutrition and also a means of learning. Short term: the seeds will grow 50 tons of food. Long term: they'll help restore Haitian pride in rural farming as a way of life.
Shortage of vegetable seed is a worldwide problem for the rural hungry, but providing seeds from afar is not a long-term solution. AKV's vision for this program in the long term is to establish locally-sustained seed farms/banks in the North, Northeast, and Northwest of Haiti that can support themselves through providing good vegetable seed to those who need it. Seed Programs Int'l can help by providing connections to global seed supply and expertise in selecting, saving, and storing seeds.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
