Friday, December 9, 2011

ARTICLE - IHRC - $17 MILLION - MILK PRODUCTION

THE IHRC ALLOCATES $17 MILLION FOR MILK PRODUCTION
(Haiti Libre) -

Wednesday, the agronomist Hébert Docteur, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) unveiled a program of $17 million, to increase milk production in the country.

Haiti now has 500,000 cows across the country and 15 dairies in 13 communes. By the end of the year, the country will have thirty installations "...we will build more dairies. There are 15 already operating in the country. There will be 30, 40, 50 [...] If we work together with FAO, and we improve our technology, this will allow the dairy businesses to be profitable and they will be able to compete with other products that come on the market [...]"

This is a three-year project designed to support the development of a more sophisticated agriculture sector. The project objective is to create 30 milk processing plants (six of them with cheese production units), managed by farmers' cooperative organizations. In addition, the project will provide milk and cheese for school food programs.

Specific objectives include :

Six thousand dairy farmers trained in improved techniques for milk production

Thirty milk production cooperatives strengthened, legalized, and technically well-equipped

One hundred eighty people from the local community hired as dairy development employees

One hundred eighty people from the local community trained in dairy production techniques and thirty local people trained in dairy administration

One hundred thousand school children receive three 10 ounce bottles of milk per week, for three school years.

The launch date of the project, originally planned for February 2011 was delayed following a change of partner, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) having withdrawn in favor of the FAO, which will provide technical assistance to MARNDR.

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