In the context of reduced agriculture yields from deforested and increasingly eroded hillsides in Haiti, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting a project to rehabilitate hillside rainfed agriculture and irrigated valley systems.
April 2013: In the context of reduced agriculture yields from deforested and increasingly eroded hillsides in Haiti, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting a project to rehabilitate hillside rainfed agriculture and irrigated valley systems.
The Small-scale Irrigation Development Project aims to rehabilitate watersheds in the north-west, north-east and central departments of Haiti. The project is rehabilitating sloped land by developing terraces and planting live hedges, while developing farmer cooperatives and irrigation channels in the valleys.
By working across whole watersheds the project is reducing silt loads downstream, and promoting better filtration of water into hillside soils, with the ultimate result of improving year-round flow of water downstream. The project has monitored an increase in water reaching irrigated valleys since the rehabilitation began.
To date almost 1,000 hectares have been rehabilitated and 16 irrigation systems created. IFAD is working along the NGO Welthungerhilfe and the World Food Programme (WFP), with IFAD providing technical support on irrigation infrastructure, WFP providing a cash and food-for-work programme, and Welthungerhilfe working with local farmers on market gardens and farmer association development. [IFAD Project Site] [Rural Development Portal Project Overview]