Peter F. Mulrean Ambassador of the United States accredited to Haiti, Pierre Guito Laurore the Minister of Agriculture and the Mayor of Dondon, Emile Joseph among other personalities, proceeded to the inauguration of the School of Agriculture of Dondon (École Moyenne d’Agriculture de Dondon - EMAD) located in Dondon (North Department).

After more than thirty-five years of closure, EMAD could reopen its doors with technical and financial support from the US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

38 young local students, ages 18 to 25, will benefit from training in agriculture to enable them to better contribute to the development of the northern region of Haiti. Students will receive a phased training over a period of two years from the principle Learning By Doing on various topics including agricultural production, livestock, natural resources management, agricultural popularization, processing of agricultural products, etc...

In his remarks for the occasion, Ambassador Peter F. Mulrean stressed "The American people are committed to always stand alongside the people of Haiti to allow a substantial improvement in their quality of life. Today's event also symbolizes the longstanding partnership... The US Government is proud to contribute to the reopening of the EMAD and the training of these young people. I am convinced that these 38 young executives in the region will assimilate the techniques and practices that will be taught to them in EMAD. I remain convinced that these young people will contribute greatly to the development of Haiti's agricultural sector."

Note that the subjects taught in the two-year program include agricultural production, livestock, natural resource management, agricultural mechanization, research and agricultural popularization service, and food processing. A third option year offer internship opportunities to students in local agricultural enterprises to complete their technical training in the field.

HL/ HaitiLibre