Haiti: The Right Seeds In The Right Hands

When the seasonal rains in Haiti are less than expected, crops wither and families become even more desperate for food.

It’s a harsh reality when you consider that 70% of Haiti’s population relies on agriculture for their food and income, and 78% live on less than $2 a day.

Unfortunately, this harsh reality is what Haitian families are facing right now as they continue to struggle in the aftermath of last year’s hurricane and an ongoing drought. In a country where so many families are so dependent on agriculture, drought is particularly deadly.

Simon Enoch, a farmer in Haiti’s Fon Batis region, spent his entire life fighting the weather, with little success. When the rains were scant or didn’t come at all, his crop seed, purchased locally, wouldn’t survive in the parched soil. The seed variety simply wasn’t intended to be grown in these conditions, but it was all he could source and afford.

Today, however, Simon isn’t at war with the weather. HOPE International Development Agency donors provided Simon, and fellow farmers just like him, with a new variety of crop seed that is highly resistant to drought and flourishes in his region.

Growing an abundance of food in this part of Haiti requires more than the right variety of seeds, it requires training in improved agricultural methods. It also requires partnerships with other farmers, in seed cooperatives, ensuring that there is always enough seed to go around, even in the most difficult times, like today. This is what your donations are doing.

The right seeds were put in the right hands at the right time; and as a result, Simon and families like his can grow enough food for their own needs throughout the year and for sale at the market, generating much needed income.

Caring people like you put those seeds in Simon’s hands. Thank you!