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¡°It is a win-win situation,¡± said Â鶹ÊÓƵ Country Director in Haiti, Pierre Honnorat. ¡°On one hand, children are eating healthy meals made with fresh ingredients, and on the other, farmers have a predictable outlet to sell their products, leading to a stable income, more investments and higher productivity.¡±

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s home-grown school feeding programme, implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Education of Haiti, has been expanding every year since its launch ¨Cfrom 3,500 children in 23 schools in 2015, to 43,000 children in 193 schools today. Initially launched in the Nippes department, the programme is now also operational in the Artibonite department.  

For the school year 2019-2020, the home-grown school feeding programme is funded by the governments of Canada and Japan. In previous years, the programme has also been funded by the Brazilian and French governments. Â鶹ÊÓƵ is working with a local NGO ¨Cthe Bureau de Nutrition et D¨¦veloppement (BND)¡ªand two farmers¡¯ associations ¨CRopanip and OFDAD¡ªto implement the programme.

A stable outlet for farmers

One of the main goals of the programme is to support local agricultural production. More than 2,200 farmers ¨Camong whom 43 percent are women¡ªare selling their products through the programme. Fresh produce is delivered on a weekly basis to schools, while dry products ¨Csuch as rice¨C are delivered on a monthly basis.

Last school year, Â鶹ÊÓƵ bought more than 700 metric tons (MT) of food from smallholder farmers through this programme, including 179 MT of rice, 149 MT of maize, 110 MT of peas, 58 MT of cabbage, 40 MT of eggplant, 35 MT of carrots and 140 MT of other fruits and vegetables. 

A healthy diet for school children

Another objective of the programme is to provide a healthy diet to children. By sourcing the products directly from nearby farms, Â鶹ÊÓƵ is able to include fresh ingredients on the menu, especially vegetables and fruits. This is essential to ensure children have all the vitamins and minerals they need for their development.

Towards a 100 percent local programme

Â鶹ÊÓƵ distributes school meals to approximately 275,000 children in Haiti. Among them, 43,000 receive meals prepared with local products, and 232,000 receive meals prepared with a mix of local and imported products. Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s goal is to increase every year the proportion of ingredients bought locally, in line with Haiti¡¯s National School Feeding Policy. In 2018, 44 percent of all the products bought for the programme were locally grown.    

In Haiti, local school meals are 35 percent more expensive compared to meals prepared with imported products, however, they represent an investment for the country as the money invested stays in Haiti and benefits Haitian agriculture.

More funding needed

While the home-grown school feeding programme is increasing, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ regular school feeding programme halved the number of beneficiaries over the past five years (from 600.000 to 300.000) due to decreased funding. To be able to revert to its original and distribute daily hot meals to 600,000 children in Haiti, Â鶹ÊÓƵ will require an additional US$13 million.

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The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ - saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. Â鶹ÊÓƵ works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

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