Dear Haiti Friends,

Courtesy of Cindy Corell, please see the article below forwarded by Cindy Corell.  Cindy worked as a missionary for the Presbyterian Church in Haiti for several years, assisting with agricultural development, particularly with small farmers in cooperative situations.  She knows the groups working with agriculture in Haiti well.

Synopsis:  The problem is two-fold —

1.  Farmers can’t get their ripe mangoes distributed and sold because of lack of funds, destruction of city markets, and so on.  This group will purchase and help the farmers distribute mangoes within Haiti to communities with a high level of food insecurity.  Farmers will be paid for this year’s crop and hungry people will get free mangoes.  See below to donate.

2.  Haitian farmers have successfully exported mangoes to the U.S.  USDA inspectors worked in Haiti to assure the mangoes’ suitability for export.  Now they will no longer work in Haiti because of the insecurity.  There is a proposal to irradiate the fruit upon arrival in Florida (this happens with crops from elsewhere) but it is stuck on someone’s desk somewhere.  Advocacy would help.