Lamercie is a single mother with two children in Haiti. At 35 years old, she’s been practicing agriculture for over half her life. But it’s been just recently that she’s started to see fruitful harvest that provides for her family — and break the cycle of poverty.
Haiti has one of the highest food insecurity levels in the world. Almost half the population is in acute hunger. Though over a third of the population is employed in the agriculture field, limited access to resources, inadequate infrastructure, climate shock, and natural disasters have made successful agriculture incredibly difficult.
Much of Haiti depends on food imports, making the country vulnerable to inflation and unpredictable international price fluctuation. Additionally, Haiti has experienced several natural disasters within the past two decades. Severe hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and droughts have caused significant damage to crops, infrastructure, and livelihoods.
Convoy of Hope implemented its Agriculture initiative in Haiti in 2012. More than a decade later, Convoy is currently training over 1,900 farmers like Lamercie in improved agriculture practices, increasing their yields and helping them control pests.
“The training sessions helped me wonderfully and the methods work so much better in my garden,” Lamercie said. “It really changed my life because I harvest more when the season is right and I earn money to take care of my kids.”
Now Lamercie is sharing what she knows with others, teaching her neighbors and peers what she learned in Convoy’s training sessions to produce more crops and break the cycle of poverty.
Despite the added difficulties of civil unrest and political turmoil in Haiti, Convoy of Hope is working with partners on the ground to continue providing hope through empowering women and girls, feeding children, and training farmers in agriculture practices.
