At the time of preparation of the Emergency Project for Resilient Agriculture for Food Security (PARSA), Haiti was the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 27% of rural farmers living in extreme poverty and facing acute food insecurity.

Building on previous operations, the World Bank promoted an integrated approach to address these challenges by combining sustainable land management, climate-resilient agriculture, and disaster risk reduction. The objective, which was to improve natural resources, combat soil erosion, and enhance water retention capacity by promoting climate-smart production and practices, was adapted to the agroecological context and strengthened the capacity to generate sustainable income.

The project encouraged active community participation. Participatory and investment plans for sub-watersheds were developed. A subsidy system provided improved technical input packages. Through the farmer field schools, farmers were introduced to improved agricultural technologies and landscape management practices, with beneficiaries selected through community participation. Significant positive impacts were achieved on agriculture and rural livelihoods, while protecting communities from the risks of flooding and landslides due to soil erosion, water runoff, and extreme weather.

The project contributed to poverty reduction and climate action by helping farmers adopt sustainable landscape management and agricultural practices that improved their productivity and resilience. Through matching grants, 20 sub-projects were supported, improving access to finance for smallholder producers and small businesses, production quality, and market linkages.

In addition, 6,667 temporary jobs were created through agricultural incentives for access to essential inputs and services, and 168 temporary jobs were created in farmer field schools (11 youth supervisors and 157 facilitators).

Results :

• 4,267 farmers (42% more than the target) adopted improved agricultural technologies (38% of whom were women), and more than 80% of them benefited from improved access to markets;

• 2,050 hectares are subject to sustainable landscape management practices, and participatory plans have been developed for four sub-watersheds;

• A spatial decision-support tool for climate risk prevention and management has been applied to 21,968 hectares covered by the project;

• 112 farmer field schools were established in the four supported sub-watersheds, providing training and support to farmers and communities to adopt improved agricultural practices through the provision of improved technical kits. 2,800 farmers participated in these farmer field schools (38% of whom were women).

• 1,511 farmers (47% of whom were women) benefited from 20 matching grants that improved market access for local products;

• 50 water tanks with a capacity of 18 m³ were built, benefiting 250 vulnerable households.

Following the major 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti's southern peninsula on August 14, 2021, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34681-haiti-earthquake-latest-assessment-of-civil-protection.html , 137,611 farmers benefited from emergency inputs and production services under the emergency response component, including 20,968 who received climate-resilient crop varieties and seeds.

Given the current situation in the country, the Haitian government continues to face significant challenges. Through strong strategic sector support and ongoing operations, the World Bank is financing two ongoing operations based on the Resilient Productive Territories (RPT) approach to increase productivity, improve livelihoods, and strengthen food security, particularly for rural households: the Emergency Project for Resilient Agriculture for Food Security (PARSA) and the RPT II. These projects aim to strengthen the resilience of poor populations in the face of persistent political, economic, and environmental risks.

HL/ HaitiLibre