Groundswell International and Partners Secure $3.5 Million Grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation to Strengthen Haitian Food Systems
Groundswell International has been awarded a $3,519,710 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in close collaboration with Partenariat Pour le Développement Local (PDL), our local NGO partner in Haiti, and Acceso, a nonprofit social enterprise known for its effectiveness in connecting smallholder farmers to local markets in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This three-year grant will allow these program partners to strengthen key program pillars of the Haiti Food Systems Alliance (HFSA), a locally-led coalition of 15 organizations that believes in and supports the power of smallholder farmers to transform food systems in Haiti from the ground up.
Groundswell International, PDL, and Acceso will engage in strategic and catalytic collaboration with this generous support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, benefitting over 10,000 Haitian farming families to improve their livelihoods, food sovereignty, and resilience to climate change. Key program elements include:
- Agroecology: Strengthening farmer-centered agroecological practices to enhance regenerative farming and land restoration.
- Market Access: Facilitating market access and boosting farmers’ incomes.
- Entrepreneurship: Enhancing the capacity of farmer associations and microenterprises, and strengthening microfinance, seed banks, and tree nurseries.
- Women and Youth: Engaging and strengthening the leadership of women and youth.
“This program allows us to push beyond organizational silos that can limit impact, and create conditions for lasting change for rural communities,” said Steve Brescia, Executive Director of Groundswell International. “Each organization will leverage our areas of greatest expertise. We’ll collaborate to expand agroecological farming, while better connecting farmers to local markets.”
Haiti has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world, a situation worsened by escalating gang violence, extreme insecurity, and unstable governance. A total of 4.35 million Haitians – nearly half the population – do not have enough to eat and 1.4 million are facing emergency levels of food insecurity.
“In spite of these incredibly challenging circumstances, the rural communities and farmers’ associations we work with are organized and are spreading ecological farming strategies to conserve soil and rainwater, improve fertility, and diversify and increase the production of their farms,” said Cantave Jean-Baptiste, Director of PDL in Haiti. “Many farmers are now able to produce and harvest diverse food from their plots to feed their families throughout the entire year. We have shown that this can be a solution to poverty in Haiti, but farmers need support to strengthen micro enterprises and increase their sales to local markets. The next three years will be decisive in our efforts to set new milestones for Haiti’s food system. Smallholder farmers, including women and youth, will step towards more resilience.”
“Acceso is excited to launch this innovative partnership leveraging our expertise in making markets work for smallholder farmers combined with Groundswell International and PDL’s proven track record in agroecology and regenerative farming,” said Rob Johnson, CEO of and co-founder of Acceso. “To deliver sustainable income increases and build true community resilience – we need to partner with farmers in ways that both align with market needs and improve the environment”.
The three program partners will engage in extensive cross-training and will document effective practices, methodologies, and recommendations for strengthening and improving healthy food systems in Haiti, led by farming communities. This information will be shared with allies in the HFSA, civil society, and the government.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States.
Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.
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