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 a herd of 500,000 cows across the country and 15 dairies in 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 that we improve our technology, we will allow businesses, to the dairies to be profitable dairies 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planned for February 2011 was delayed following a change of partner, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) having withdrawn in favor of the FAO which will provide technical assistance to MARNDR.

TB/ HaitiLibre