Friday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Brasserie Nationale d’Haiti S.A (BRANA), a Haitian brewery owned by Heineken, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to improve the livelihoods of Haitian farmers by sourcing locally grown sorghum. The new partnership is expected to create jobs and improve salaries for some 18,000 small-scale farmers.

The MOU signing event, held at BRANA’s factory in Port-au-Prince, was officiated by Jose Matthijsse, General Manager of BRANA, and Mark A. White, USAID/Haiti’s Acting Mission Director.

Through the partnership, BRANA expects to partially replace the imported malted barley used to make its non-alcoholic drink Malta H. Malta H with locally grown sorghum. And USAID will move a step closer to improving rural food security and connecting small-scale farmers to markets.

To improve the quality and quantity of Haitian sorghum, USAID will support farmer training in modern agricultural techniques and production standards. To increase productivity and farmer incomes, BRANA will invest in upgrading processing and storage techniques and facilities, developing farmer associations and federations, and purchasing the sorghum produced.

This partnership aims to increase access to agricultural expertise and technologies and sustain demand for the resulting product. These two elements can be expected to increase income and employment while having a multiplier effect in related industries such as storage and transport. The overall result will have a powerful impact in reducing poverty.

HL/ HaitiLibre