Mandarins are a gold mine for hillside farmers.

ORE's program is designed to increase the number of commercial trees by nursery production of seedlings and by top-grafting the sour orange trees which grow in abundance throughout the countryside. ORE has selected the varieties which demonstrated the highest crops revenues: Clementine, Mandarine de Jacmel, Tangelo, and sweet oranges such as Washington Navel and Valencia

(Zaboka ak Pen) Avocado and bread, have long been staple foods for the rural community.

choquette avocado in fruit

Avocado is one of the highest calorie fruits. It is high in protein, vitamins and other nutrients and is a major part of the peasant's diet when in season. So in addition to creating a viable commercial industry, and protecting the environment, expanding the avocado season will also be of tremendous benefit to the nutrition of the rural population. Haiti traditionally produces excellent avocados: they are an excellent source of nutrition and hold an important place in the local market. However, the local varieties are so diverse that it is impossible to collect homogenous fruits for industrial purposes, as required by export markets.

The most popular mango most Haitian eat. wich is FRANSIQUE

Mangos represent the largest percentage of the tree population throughout Haiti. It was recently estimated by USAID that there are 10 million mango trees growing in Haiti. However, only about 10% of the existing trees are the Mme Francique commercial variety.

The biotech industry says genetically modified seeds will help to feed the world’s growing population, but critics charge so-called Terminator and Traitor seeds will only add to the world’s hunger problems. Indigenous farmers in Haiti cultivate crops from seeds passed down from generation to generation. Biotech critics say widespread use of some genetically modified seeds will hurt farmers in developing countries.

Photos: Darcy Kiefel; © Courtesy Heifer International

Genetically altered foods in Haiti