Annual Report
2024-2025
Annual Report
2024-2025

Haiti

UPA DI has been working continuously in Haiti since 2009, in solidarity with our partners, despite the difficult context in the country.

Projects

AVETI

The AVETI chapter comes to a close

The AVETI project: Climate adaptation and economic development of agricultural sectors in Haiti ended in March 2025.

Launched in 2019, AVETI enabled more than 5,450 farmers to adopt innovative techniques and different practices to adapt to climate change and strengthen the value chains of the cocoa and yam sectors. To achieve this, no fewer than 53 farmer field schools were set up to facilitate learning and the dissemination of good agricultural practices.

After six years of implementation, the results are now visible!

Increased agricultural yields

Farmers in six municipalities in the South and Grand Anse departments have improved their yields, particularly in the cocoa sector, with production 58% higher than the national average.

The project has thus contributed to improving economic well-being and reducing vulnerability by increasing the climate, economic, and socio-psychological resilience of participants.

Adapted and diversified community services

AVETI has improved the governance of partner professional agricultural organizations and developed the services they offer to their members.

New community services include phytosanitary pruning and the establishment of nurseries for yam, fruit and forest trees. Some community-based enterprises have also developed and marketed new products such as cocoa butter and banana or breadfruit chips.

These innovations have increased the added value of agricultural value chains and generated additional income for members.

Better integration of women and young people

Partner organizations have established new environmental committees, credit committees, and gender focal points with the aim of improving the participation of women and young people in their decision-making processes. They have also established environmental action plans.

Despite the extremely difficult circumstances in which the Haitian people live, these women and men demonstrate extraordinary resilience and an unwavering determination to improve their lives. We are very proud to have been able to carry out this project alongside our sisters and brothers in Haiti, and we hope to continue supporting initiatives in the country.

The AVETI project was implemented by the International Agricultural Alliance, formed by the Société de coopération pour le développement international (SOCODEVI), the Centre d'étude et de coopération internationale (CECI), UPA Développement international (UPA DI), and Développement international Desjardins (DID). It is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada.

Circular Economy

Hope on the Menu

The year 2024-2025 was another year marked by violence, urban exodus, inflation, and food insecurity in Haiti. Despite everything, the circular economy model proved its worth once again.

Excessive inflation in the prices of imported goods, including food products that are difficult to transport to remote rural areas, is significantly exacerbating food insecurity in the country. It is therefore thanks to the dynamics of our  circular economy project, which promotes local agricultural products from family farms farming families and their organizations, that school canteens are still operational.

For many families, the school canteen is the main reason for sending their children to school, as it may be their only meal of the day. In addition, this project represents a solvent, regular and predictable market that enables family farms to sell their produce. This income is essential.

This year, 95,564 meals were served to 1,355 students in six schools. Women's groups participated in several training sessions and demonstrated their resilience by developing inspiring new business initiatives such as the sale of processed food products and services to the local population.

Two groups, KOFAKAD and COFPACOD, generated revenues of CAD 430 and CAD 260, respectively. This may seem like a small amount, but it makes a real difference in a context of extreme poverty.

These results encourage us to continue supporting our partners in Haiti. We hope that together we can weather the storm that is shaking the country and build a more inclusive world where everyone has enough to eat.

The circular economy in Haiti is made possible thanks to the financial support of Manger local fait grandir le monde, the Roncalli International Foundation, and the Louise Grenier Foundation.

FO-RI Carbon Neutral AYITI

Coffee and Cocoa

Since 2022, the FO-RI  (Farmer-led Research and Innovation) program has been encouraging research and innovation led by women and men farmers to make agri-food systems more resilient to climate change.

The program supports action research projects to diversify coffee-based agroforestry systems and develop cocoa cultivation in the Baptiste region to regenerate soils and improve yields.

During 2024-2025, 1,266 members of the cooperatives of the Union des coopératives caféières de Baptiste (UCOCAB) were trained in action research, agroecology and agricultural income, and participated in various  activities.

  • Three days of theoretical and practical training with a professional agronomist enabled 50 people to learn how to make biofertilizers and biopesticides such as bokashi, compost, and compost tea to reduce their dependence on chemical pesticides.
  • Two professional trainers conducted three training and awareness-raising tours in the eight UCOCAB member cooperatives on topics related to agroecology, with a focus on gender issues and youth inclusion. Thanks to them, the level of women's participation continues to increase.
  • Nine nurseries for coffee, forest trees, and fruit trees have been set up since the start of the project and this past year, the first cocoa nursery was established with 20,000 seedlings!

A second phase of action research is being carried out in collaboration with the Department of Agronomy at the Université Chrétienne du Nord d'Haïti (UCNH). Under the supervision of the teaching staff, students have carried out various assessments and biochemical and soil fertility analyses on 15 plots located at different altitudes to guide the development of cocoa farming in the area.

This project is promising and is mobilizing a growing number of farmers!   UPADI will be  closely monitoring the achievements of these resilient farmers involved over the next year.

The FO-RI project is made possible thanks to funding from the European Union and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), through AgriCord.

Guinea
Indonesia
Martin Caron
President of the Board

The future of agriculture, here and around the world, depends greatly on the decisions we make and the actions we take today. Hence the expression, “The future starts now.”

This projection into the future calls for deep reflection. Are the necessary resources available? Is the sustainability of family farming assured? Are collective marketing systems alive and well? Are structural initiatives continuing to emerge? Does the next generation of farmers have confidence in the future?

Each of these questions is relevant and deserves careful consideration. If the answer to most of them is yes, we must continue along the same path. If the answer is no, we must act, innovate, unite, and collectively change the course of events —preferably sooner rather than later.

This concern for the future is central to the mission of UPA Développement international (UPA DI), which, since 1993, has drawn on Quebec's agricultural values to support the development of a large number of rural communities around the world.  To do this, we pilot environmentally friendly projects that are transferable to future generations and designed to enhance food security and autonomy for populations.

Our local farmers can take pride in all these projects, as well as in the many forms of representation that UPA DI provides to numerous international organizations. Reading this annual report will surely convince you!

Hugo Beauregard-Langelier
Chief Executive Director

While many are content to believe that the future will be the same as the past or trying to revive an idealized version of the past, others are forging ahead, dreaming of a future they are building. For them, the future is not something that simply happens to us, but something shaped by the actions we take.

These dreams to be built and actions to be taken, have been central in the past year at UPA Développement international (UPA DI).  All this leading to the adoption of a new strategic plan, an opportunity to reflect on the mark UPA DI seeks to leave in the evolving landscape of agriculture and international solidarity.

Rooted in its history, engaged in the present, and ambitious towards the future, UPA DI's vision is for those who feed the world and inhabit our agricultural lands to live with dignity from the fruit of their labour. This vision is built on ecological economic growth, strong collective action, and the socio-economic empowerment of women.

But the realization of these aspirations will inevitably depend on young people, the next generation, who will live in a time where the potential for technological and social innovation has never been greater, yet crises have never been more frequent or severe.

If, as they say, history repeats itself, we must trust these young people who will feed us tomorrow to rise to the challenges they will face, just as our ancestors did before us. And if history repeats itself, UPA DI will be by their side to dream, innovate, and build a future driven by collective action, solidarity, equity, social justice, respect, and democracy.

Happy reading!

Your privacy is important to us. By using this site, you agree to data tracking as described in our Privacy Policy.

Necessary data

The tracking of certain data is required for the operation of the website and therefore cannot be deactivated: choice of language, consent and preference on data tracking, etc.

Mandatory
Optional data

In return, the tracking of certain data is optional and requires your consent: collect statistics on traffic, analyze visitors’ journeys to improve the functioning of the website, offer personalized offers, etc.