ARTICLE - ISRAID - AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

ISRAAID LAUNCHES AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM IN HAITI
(Jerusalem Post) - By Gil Shefler

IsraAid Tevel b’Tzedek unveiled a new program in Haiti on Tuesday, helping farmers in the impoverished Caribbean nation grow more plentiful produce using Israeli know-how.

The project, called Haiti Grows, aims to help eliminate hunger and provide better incomes for rural Haitians by improving their crop cultivation practices.

“Haiti Grows will build a holistic farmer support system at all levels of agricultural practice,” the relief group said.

“Farmers will be trained to use technology such as drip irrigation, disease-resistant new vegetable varieties and appropriate agrochemicals, while stocks of these inputs are made available at local supply stores.”

The opening ceremony of the project, based in Leogane – just outside the capital, Port-au-Prince – was attended by Haitian President Michel Martelly.

A world leader in agricultural technology, Israel has pioneered and exported methods such as drip irrigation and community ownership of expensive farming equipment around the world.

IsraAid is one of several Jewish groups that have delivered aid to Haiti in the aftermath of January 2010’s devastating earthquake, which killed more than 200,000 people. At the time, Israel set up a temporary field hospital in the capital, treating thousands of patients. Other Jewish groups operating there include the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the American Jewish World Service.

IsraAid is funded by a wide coalition that includes the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and the American Jewish Committee.