Source:http://www.haitiregeneration.org/mvp_intro_wsubs
The Millennium Village in Port-à-Piment will provide a basis and model for integrating and scaling up commune and subcatchment level best practices in agriculture, nutrition and health, education, energy, water and sanitation, environment, infrastructure, information technology, community development and disaster risk management. The HRI team has collected a broad baseline of information about the watershed and the sectors on which PaPMVP will be focusing, the highlights of which are found below. To acheive the Millennium Development Goals, the PaPMVP team will work work on strategies within these sectors in a cross-cutting and integrated manner.open all sections
Agriculture
The steep topography in the Port-à-Piment watershed limits the availability of highly fertile land, yet there is still the potential for a highly productive agricultural market in the area. The area, once known for its high quality coffee, mango, and bean production, is now caught in a vicious trap of poverty and environmental degradation.
Within the watershed, 67% of the topography has slopes of greater than 30 degrees. An initial land degradation survey shows the overall soil fertility continues to decrease due to extensive cultivation and insufficient soil treatment. Based on initial surveys, over 54% of the land is used for cropland, despite the challenges of steep slopes and lack of access to roads and market infrastructure.
The largest cash crop is locally-produced charcoal. Some of the charcoal produced within the watershed is extracted illegally from Macaya National Park, which borders the watershed to the north. Though the Port-à-Piment watershed borders the Caribbean Sea on the south, sea fishing incomes are negligible and aquaculture is essentially non-existent.
Strategies to Achieve MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
To increase the efficiency and optimize the potential of the agriculture in this region, the project will provide immediate support to farmers. Initial strategies will aim to enhance farmers’ ability to increase the yields and quality of their products, including the nutritional composition, food safety, and food storage capacity. The MVP aims to achieve these goals through access to improved seeds, improved agro-forestry seedlings and grafts, nutrient inputs, and irrigation. Further, the MVP will work with the community to find long term plans to optimize production based on land potential and efforts to improve market access.