On March 17, Marcelin Aubourg, the new Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) had his first meeting with Pierre Vauthier, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Haiti. The objective was in particular to present the sectoral priorities with regard to the roadmap of the new Government.

From the outset, the Minister presented the Government's roadmap which is based on 5 fundamental pillars : security, governance, economic recovery, improvement of public services and preparation for elections.

As for his vision of the sector, the Minister wants it to be a lever for social stability, territorial development and economic recovery. For this, the priority areas of intervention are: the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, the distribution of agricultural inputs, the development of value chains and the modernization of production systems.

For his part, the FAO Representative reiterated his institution's commitment to continuing to support the Haitian agricultural sector, recalling that Haiti is one of the 5 priority countries of the FAO. He believes it is necessary to continue working together and ensure the involvement of all MARNDR entities in the implementation of actions. He briefly presented the new project which will be implemented for the benefit of 40,000 beneficiaries in certain areas of the country: the Gros Morne/Marchand Dessalines, Hinche, Kenscoff and Léogâne/Gressier axis. The Representative is committed to technical assistance from FAO in the field of irrigation.

During the discussions other important points were discussed, including the modernization of the fishing sector, the resumption of the export of mangoes which constitutes an important source of foreign currency.

IH/ iciHaiti