Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Food and nutrition security Soils

Dominican tractors helping to ready Haitian soils

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

IICA is supporting efforts to improve food security in the wake of the earthquake.

Twenty tractors equipped with plows, dozer blades and backhoes, as well as their respective operators and a number of agricultural specialists, was delivered in an official ceremony.

Cachimas, Belladere, Haiti, March 16, 2010, (IICA).  The Secretariat of State for Agriculture of the Dominican Republic has delivered tractors and other equipment need to prepare agricultural lands in Haiti, in support of farmers affected by the January 12 earthquake.

The donation, consisting of twenty tractors equipped with plows, dozer blades and backhoes, as well as their respective operators and a number of agricultural specialists, was delivered in an official ceremony held at the customs house in the town of Cachimas, Belladere, Haiti, across the border from the province of Elisa Piña, in the Dominican Republic.

In attendance were the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Dominican Republic, Felix Alcantara; the Director of the Southeastern Region, Ricardo Calderon; and the Head of the Agricultural Promotion Department, Jose, del Carmen Vicente.  Epifanio Nova Rosario represented the province of Elisa Piña.

The Haitian government was represented by the Secretary of State for Plant Production, Jean Claude Delise, and government officials and authorities from Belladere. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) was represented by its Representatives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Alfredo Mena and Manuel Messina, respectively.

Delise thanked the government and people of the Dominican Republic and pledged that the Haitian people would make full use of the donation.

Mena referred to the joint efforts involving IICA and the Governments of Brazil and the United States to provide funds for reconstruction projects in Haiti.

The work of the tractors began on Saturday. In staggered shifts, operators from both countries managed to prepare more than 5,000 hectares in Belladere, with considerable support from farmers and community members.

After one week in Belladere, the tractors will move to Savane Diane and the surrounding area, enabling thousands of farmers to plant their spring crops on time, which are vital to food security in Haiti.

For more information, contact

alfredo.mena@iica.int

manuel.messina@iica.int

Share

Related news​

Buenos Aires, Argentina

April 23, 2025

Addressing future diplomats of Argentina’s Foreign Service, IICA Director General underscores the strategic value of the region’s agriculture sector and its key role for global food security

While on official mission in Argentina’s capital, Otero was invited to deliver a keynote speech at ISEN before a large and distinguished audience. He provided a detailed assessment of the challenges facing agriculture in the world and the opportunities for Argentina and other Latin American countries, in light of demands for accessible, high quality food by a growing population as well as the uncertainties posed by the current geopolitical context.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

April 21, 2025

Dawn Francis, sustainable agriculture and organic farming advocate and a model for small farmers in her native Dominica, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Francis founded her own organization, EcoBalance Inc., which has organized training programs for farmers and implemented plans for equipment acquisition in the region. It also established a biodiversity center to teach primary and secondary students about agriculture and the environment.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

São Paulo, Brazil

April 10, 2025

Key players from the sustainable aviation fuel sector, addressing the Latin American Congress, maintained that if the region establishes clear rules, it has the potential to lead the world in SAF

The Americas has the potential to become a global leader in supplying sustainable aviation fuels, although to do so, it will need to establish clear rules and to harmonize its sustainability criteria governing the raw materials used, ensuring that processes are certifiable and science-based.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins