CDB Approves USD 7 Million Grant for Agricultural Initiative in Haiti’s Northwest

CDB Approves USD 7 Million Grant for Agricultural Initiative in Haiti’s Northwest

By Caribbean Business Report 

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a USD 7 million grant to launch a transformative agricultural project in Haiti’s Northwest Department (NWD). Building on the successes of the Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Project (CBARDP), this new initiative aims to tackle ongoing challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, and increased vulnerability caused by political instability and climate change. 

 

Launched in 2016 with an USD 8 million grant co-financed by CDB and Welthungerhilfe, the CBARDP created over 19,000 short-term jobs in the NWD through improving water management infrastructure and systems. 

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The project also provided training in climate smart agriculture and established Water User Associations to ensure the sustainability of these systems, achieving fee collection rates of 70 to 100% for fully operational schemes.

 

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 A further 3,000 people will benefit from the new project, which will build on these achievements by further improving water management and access to over 300 hectares of land for agriculture, with the aim of doubling the number of crop cycles per year and increasing productivity by 50%. 

 

Other plans include improving equitable access to agricultural resources, expanding irrigation and drainage systems, enhancing farm roads, and implementing watershed protection measures such as reforestation and flood control. The project will also rehabilitate the Ministry of Agriculture Natural Resources and Rural Development’s Extension Unit Office in the region to better support local farmers.

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