Haiti Food Security Program - A Model Farmer
Michel has earned the respect of his neighbors and community because of his honesty, hard work, and relative success, despite his modest means. He has participated in Save the Children’s food security program for 18 months and is now serving as a model farmer. He was elected to lead a group of 50 male and female farmers in their efforts to improve their production and incomes. They hope to achieve a long-term improvement in their ability to feed themselves and care for their families.
At 38, Michel looks much older. He lives with his wife and four children, who range in age from 8 months to 18 years. He is a small, self-effacing man who manages to feed his family on his two acres of corn, sorghum, millet and peas. He also sells some of his production in town. He also has banana, papaya, and has improved his orange tree and eggplant by grafting sweeter and more productive varieties. His wife works hard as a small trader, buying goods in town and walking to distant communities to sell them.
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Michel is managing the small nursery started by the farmers group with seedlings and planting materials provided by Save the Children. When the papaya, sedre (for firewood production) and other fruit tree seedlings were ready, farmers in the group were able to buy them at a reduced rate. The funds collected will be used to finance the nursery or additional projects chosen by the farmers with the help of Save the Children’s agricultural agents. Farmers in the group have received regular technical assistance from the agents, who have promoted greater crop diversity for family consumption as well as sale. They have also worked with sub-groups interested in expanding production of a particular crop or practice. The land on the lower plateau is good, although many farmers in Michel’s group must rent land, adding to the cost and making high productivity critical.
Interested agricultural program participants and representatives from local organizations have received training in small scale income generating activities related to food processing, e.g., production of jams and jellies from local fruits.
Participant families with pregnant mothers and children under 2 are also eligible for the health/nutrition component of the program. Michel’s son at 7 months old is a participant in growth monitoring sessions. His family is happy to know that he is healthy. Malnourished children and their mothers participate in mothers’ support groups for several weeks, and receive larger food rations until they recuperate.
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Michel is proud of his older daughters, who are completing high school. They are tall and radiate good health, evidence of the results of a diet that is both sufficient and nutritious. Because he wants to help his neighbors and because of his belief in education, he has given a half-acre of his land for Save the Children to build a school which will be run by the community itself (school in background above – beyond Michel’s family compound). It will open soon and many more parents will be able to enroll their children, as the 4 miles to town is too far for younger children and requires crossing on foot a river which often rises unexpectedly. Michel doesn’t know that links between mother’s education and childhood nutritional status have been proven, but he has made a contribution also to the long term food security of his community.
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With the help of people like Michel, Save the Children is making a difference in the lives of women and children in this community and the greater region of Maissade. Save the Children’s community based and integrated approach to programming in Haiti addresses both immediate needs and long-term solutions to hunger and malnutrition. It is designed to work with 40,000 direct beneficiaries and their families through direct implementation and through local implementing partners across the Central Plateau, and is just one of Save the Children’s 14 integrated food security programs world wide.
