ARTICLE - AGRICULTURE - ARTIBONITE

THE PRESIDENT INAUGURATES IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL WORKS IN THE ARTIBONITE
(Haiti Libre) -

President Michel Martelly, inaugurated, on Thursday, May 24, in the Artibonite valley, in the locality of La Session at Bocozelle (5th section of St. Marc), an irrigation system consisting of a primary channel of 23 km and 6.5 km of secondary canals in masonry, allowing to recover 3,000 additional hectares and 5,000 hectares in order to increase the income of 40,000 farmers, and reduce rice imports of 40,000 tonnes per year [900,000 bags of rice].

Also, at the sites of Janin and of Boudet Savien, a Berlin wall has been built where the Canal Maitre Rive Droite is located. Shoreline protection of the right bank of the Artibonite River and a bridge of one lane of 84 meters in length on the Salée Flood Way at Féry were also built. Previously, the crossing was done using small rickety boats, and very often, accidents were reported during floods.

These infrastructure works were carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR), with support from the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), as part of the Program of Agricultural Intensification of the Artibonite Valley (PIA-ART).

The Head of State welcomed the support of the IDB, and the involvement of other actors in the implementation of these development projects. However, he believes that it is important to increase production from these newly irrigated acres, and hoped that it exceeds the two tons of rice per hectare produced by Haitian farmers, compared to 12 tonnes per hectare produced by the Chinese.

"I ask the Minister of Agriculture to develop a modern plan within the Organization for the Development of the Artibonite Valley (ODVA) in order to give concrete results to farmers," declared the President of the Republic; in the presence of Local Authorities (Parliamentarians, Delegates, ASEC-CASEC) and farmers...

He took the opportunity to express his dissatisfaction with the exorbitant price of a bag of fertilizer currently, and regretted the poor distribution of the 100,000 bags of fertilizer he had bought for farmers. He sent instructions, so that "the Ministry of Agriculture takes the necessary action to ensure that the fertilizer reaches farmers cheaply."

In addition, the Head of State, affected by the grievances of the inhabitants of Bocozelle, announced that he will work on:

- A  cleaning project

- Construction of a sub police station

- The installation of a clinic (he promises to discuss with the First Lady on this).

For his part, Engineer Jacques Thomas, Minister of Agriculture, announced the launch of the development work of agricultural roads, and a reduction in the price of fertilizer. He asked everyone to get involved in the efforts of President Martelly, who plans to irrigate 120,000 hectares during his tenure.

The coordinator of the CASEC in the 5th section of Bocozelle, Mr. Josaphat Augustin, welcomed the efforts made ​​so far in the field of agriculture, and farmers of this section. He congratulated President Martelly for giving importance to agricultural production.

"When managers do not provide concrete results, they should not be acclaimed. It would be better to work together to provide satisfactory solutions... Certainly, we must strengthen the institutions, but first we need qualified and skilled human resources," reminded President Martelly.

Determined to fight hunger, the Head of State clearly indicated that his dream was to see farmers produce more for domestic consumption, and promised to accompany them to the end.