The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a US$7-million grant for the launch of a transformative agricultural project in Haiti’s Northwest Department (NWD).

This new initiative builds on the Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Project (CBARDP) and aims to tackle ongoing challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, and increased vulnerability caused by political instability and climate change.

Noting that Haiti’s NWD continues to face challenges, including declining arable land, erratic rainfall, and prolonged droughts, CDB’s Director of the Projects Department (Ag) L O’ Reilly Lewis emphasised that CBARDP reviews highlighted the need for expanded investments in climate-smart agricultural practices.

“Promoting climate-smart agriculture remains a high priority for the region’s sustainable development. This project will scale up the successes of CBARDP and consolidate the gains already achieved. We will also focus on promoting gender equity by ensuring women’s active participation in livelihoods, income generation, decision-making, and leadership roles,” Lewis stated.

CBARDP was launched in 2016 with a US$8-million grant co-financed by CDB and Welthungerhilfe, creating over 19,000 short-term jobs in the NWD through improving water management infrastructure and systems. The project also provided training in climate-smart agriculture and established Water User Associations to ensure the sustainability of these systems, and as a result achieved fee collection rates of 70 to 100% for fully operational schemes.

At the time of the launch, nearly 46 per cent of households in the NWD were facing severe food insecurity, well above the national average of 30 per cent. Independent evaluations revealed that 75 per cent of beneficiaries saw their incomes double or triple, while crop yields increased by up to 600 per cent since. Farmers shifted to cultivating higher-value, nutritious crops, improving access to urban markets, reducing child malnutrition, and enhancing overall community well-being.

An additional 3,000 Haitians will benefit from the new project, which builds on these achievements by improving water management and providing access to over 300 hectares of agricultural lands. The new project aims to double crop cycles per year and increase productivity by 50 per cent, as well as improve equitable access to agricultural resources, expand irrigation and drainage systems, enhance farm roads, and implement watershed protection measures such as reforestation and flood control.

The project will also rehabilitate the Ministry of Agriculture Natural Resources and Rural Development’s Extension Unit Office in the NWD region to better support local farmers. CBARDP will continue using the participatory approach that ensures active community involvement throughout all stages, from needs assessment to implementation and operations.

CDB previously provided grant funding for initiatives in Haiti, which included training on developing Geospatial Information System maps and creating mini-grid specifications for integration into future Requests for Proposals.

This new initiative will further strengthen CDB’s commitment to supporting sustainable agricultural development, resilience, and economic stability in Haiti’s Northwest Department.