AMERICA/HAITI - A center to transform cassava into flour and cope with food insecurity

Torbeck (Agenzia Fides) - Food insecurity in Haiti is strongly linked to the importation of food. To cope with this phenomenon, which in the Caribbean Country affects more than 600 million people, a cassava processing center to improve the capacity will be inaugurated today, 16 May. The program, called AQUAPLUS, aims to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the rural population of the town of Torbeck. The processing unit (UdT) of cassava is built on the grounds of the Faculté d'Agronomie Université Notre Dame d'Haiti (UNDH), with a structure of 360 square meters, with offices, laboratories, equipment and programs to provide technical assistance to the farmers. The objective is to support an area with a strong agricultural potential still untapped because of reduced economic capacity available to the community to start commercial enterprises. The creation of the center is part of activities aimed to enhance and improve the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products. Together with the faculty UNDH, the program AQUAPLUS has also launched a research project funded by WFP in order to identify a new food supplement suitable for children, derived from local legumes and flours and in line with international standards for food safety. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 16/05/2014)