Hurricane Recovery in the Cabbage Patch

In April 2008, ACDI/VOCA launched a new program in Haiti to address the chronic food insecurity that affects much of the country. The five-year, PL 480 Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program is funded by USAID and aims to improve agricultural production, nutrition education and capacity to respond to natural disasters. It was not long before the program was put to the test.

In August of 2008, many of the inhabitants of southeast Haiti lost their homes and livelihoods in the devastation of Hurricane Gustav. Roselene Mardi, a mother of 11, was one of the many who were affected by the storm. She was also one of 743 farmers living in the La Vallée and Bainet municipalities in the Southeast Department of Haiti who participated in the agricultural extension training that ACDI/VOCA offered to farmers to help them rebuild lost assets and earn more income. To diversify their diets and their income sources, ACDI/VOCA introduced vegetable farming to the inhabitants of this mountainous area, which produces mostly tubers and pulses.

Mardi was thrilled with the results of her first foray into vegetable farming. As her neighbors gathered nearby to listen, she excitedly described how the cabbages she produced with the technical assistance of ACDI/VOCA were huge compared to those she usually sees in the market in the Southeast Department. She harvested her first cabbages in February 2009 and was not only able to feed the nine children living with her, but also generated enough income to pay for her two children studying in Port-au-Prince.

Mardi’s experience and the experience of the other participating farmers has generated hope in the community. Although many farmers were initially reluctant to participate in agricultural extension training, now there are hundreds in the area clamoring to participate in the next training for the upcoming planting season. And as more farmers participate in training programs, the community’s resiliency to catastrophes like Hurricane Gustav will grow.

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