Bilateral meeting with H.E. Vernet Joseph, Minister for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development of Haiti

Rome – The FAO Director-General met today in Rome with H.E. Vernet Joseph, Minister for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development of Haiti, on the sidelines of the 44th Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister and acknowledged the strong partnership with Haiti, which dated to back to the Organization’s beginnings, as Haiti was one of the founding Members of FAO. The Director-General acknowledged the major challenges facing the country, both socio-economic and political, as well as those arising from natural disasters and climate change, which had taken a heavy toll on people’s living conditions and food security.

Furthermore, the Director-General emphasized that FAO would continue strengthening its support for Haiti to steadily overcome its many challenges in the field of food and agriculture as part of a comprehensive solution to help the country regain its path toward prosperity.

The Minister thanked the Director-General and provided a detailed description of Haiti’s difficult situation in the economic, social, and environmental fields. The Minister stated that agriculture was vital to Haiti because, beyond its economic relevance, it paved the way to overcoming food insecurity. Moreover, he discussed major agricultural issues, such as the insufficient resources available to assist farmers with seeds, tools, technical support, and market access. He also mentioned rural unemployment as a pressing issue.  Additionally, the Minister referred to the lack of infrastructure and security issues that prevented agricultural production from reaching the capital, distribution centers, and international markets.

Minister Joseph commended FAO for the work being done across the region, in particular through Haiti’s engagement with the FAO South-South and Triangular Cooperation programme. He expressed the country’s willingness to adopt the new Country Programming Framework (CPF) for the period 2025-2028, which was currently being finalized, and looked forward to its implementation through a concrete joint action plan.

Both parties discussed next steps to further increase FAO’s contribution to Haiti’s development and agreed on priorities such as prioritizing cassava for its adaptability, while broadening the focus areas to include aquaculture, marine fisheries, livestock, value chains, the design and implementation of a national seed policy, and climate adaptation, in line with government defined priorities.  

In particular, the Director-General noted that FAO could provide increased support to family farmers in the country through technical assistance for the provision of rice seeds, and fertilizers, as well as through a project aimed at the digital transformation of rural areas.

The Minister looked forward to this focused support as it would provide an opportunity to modernize agricultural practices, promote technological inclusion, and build resilience amongst rural communities.

The pair agreed to work together with a results-oriented approach to ensure a more productive, sustainable, and innovative agricultural sector to the benefit of all the people of Haiti.