Thursday, 13 July, the French Ambassador accredited to Haiti, Elisabeth Beton Delègue, handed over 591 kg of vegetable seeds offered by France to Haitian producers during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Agriculture , Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) in the presence of Minister Carmel André Béliard.
This new contribution from France to the rehabilitation of agricultural activities following Hurricane Matthew is the result of a strong joint mobilization of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the National Interprofessional Group for seeds and plants (GNIS) and three of its members, French companies specialized in the marketing of seeds : Technisem, Caraïbes Semence and HM Clause.
Tomato, peas, watermelon, sweet pepper, okra, cabbage, carrot and amaranth: all the seedlings provided are known to Haitian farmers and have been collected following an analysis of the needs previously carried out by the Cooperation Department of the French Embassy in Haiti, they have been checked and validated by French research centers specialized in tropical agriculture. Their distribution on the Haitian territory will be ensured by the Seed National Service (SNS) of MARNDR to prepare the next winter crop production campaign.
According to Minister Béliard "In all agricultural systems, seeds are essential. They are the first step towards the increased production of food, thus fundamental to ensuring the Food Security of the populations by their quality, their accessibility, their diversity and their availability."
