On Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025, on the sidelines of the 44th FAO Conference, Vernet Joseph, Haiti's Minister of Agriculture, met in Rome with Chinese Qu Dongyu, Director-General of FAO of China.

This high-level meeting provided an opportunity to further explore the prospects for strategic and operational cooperation between Haiti and FAO, in response to the urgent challenges related to food security, rural resilience, and agricultural transformation in the country.

Strategically, the discussions focused on :

• Finalizing the Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2025-2028;

• Supporting the implementation of the national seed policy;

• Haiti's active participation in South-South and triangular cooperation mechanisms promoted by FAO.

On the operational level, several priority areas have been identified :

• The development of plant and animal sectors, particularly the promotion of cassava and the genetic improvement of cattle and goat herds;

• The sustainable strengthening of marine fisheries;

• Structured supervision of family farming, through a multi-stakeholder initiative involving Haiti, Colombia, and soon Brazil and Cuba https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-45154-haiti-agriculture-colombia-brazil-and-cuba-in-favor-of-a-partnership-to-boost-the-haitian-agricultural-sector.html

In a concrete gesture of solidarity and commitment to the Haitian rural world, the FAO Director-General announced a financial contribution of $2 million, intended to directly support 10,000 Haitian farmers.

This initiative is part of FAO's ambitious program for the digital transformation of rural areas, and more specifically the "1,000 Digital Villages" project, personally led by Qu Dongyu. Haiti sees this as a major opportunity to modernize its agricultural practices, promote technological inclusion, and strengthen the resilience of rural communities.

Both parties expressed their shared desire to continue this dynamic partnership in order to build a more productive, sustainable, and innovative agricultural sector serving the Haitian people.

HL/ HaitiLibre