In an effort to improve Haiti’s economy, boost its agricultural output, improve food security and nutrition, and increase incomes in the country’s northern reaches,the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, through the Feed the Future initiative and Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture launched a new agricultural development program in Haiti called “Feed the Future North”.Haiti’s agricultural productivity has systematically declined over the past three decades due to a combination of factors including:terrain that is difficult to farm, prone to erosion, flooding and environmental degradation, and diminishing fresh water sources.Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative focuses on small holder farmers and supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sector to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty and undernutrtion.The new program is modeled on the successful “Feed the Future West”, a five-year program launched in 2009 that introduced better seeds and fertilizer, new farming technologies and improved infrastructure to support the growth of Haiti’s agriculture.As a result, some 30,000 Haitian farmers increased their crop yields and raised their incomes from about 200 dollars per hectare to more than 1,100 dollars per hectare since the program’s inception.
