Tuesday, as part of their involvement in the watershed Onde Verte of the commune of Belladère, the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR), European Union (EU) and the Office of the National Authorising Officer of the European Development Fund (BONFED) inaugured major irrigation infrastructures including an aqueduct of 250 meters long and irrigation canals located in Bidal, K-Laroche and in Croix-Fer.

This ceremony was held on the site of Bidal in the presence of representatives of local authorities, the NGO PROTOS, who built these structures in partnership with the Ecumenical Mutual Aid Service (SOE) and of groups of farmers involved in the management and ensure the proper use of these infrastructures.

In his remarks for the occasion, Jean Jacques Charles, the National Authorising Officer, stressed the importance of this infrastructure, which will contribute to increasing agricultural production in the region and improve the living conditions of the population.

Abundant in the same direction, the Ambassadors of the European Union, Javier Nino Pérez, represented by Massimo Scalorbi, the Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union in Haiti, stressed that the work of a $ 1.4 million, which are funded by the European Union (90%) and the Belgian Development Cooperation, as part of a broader project. Started May 6, 2013, this work will extend over two and half years and will benefit about 80,000 people.

The project includes watershed management, physical rehabilitation and expansion of irrigation infrastructure, but also numerous trainings and realization of plans and development work. A specific support is provided to producers by the establishment of storage facilities, packaging and processing as well as to enhance their management capacity for the storage and marketing of their products.

Another essential aspect is the involvement of local authorities, which are reinforced in their role as local development managers. Following the same logic of appropriation, means are allocated to the Departmental Directorate of Agricultural Centre and to the Communal Agricultural Bureau of Belladère so they can better support farmers.

HL/ HaitiLibre