Acceso Haiti, a social agribusiness, is working to build a strong food system and empower smallholder farming families with long-term opportunities and market access.

Along with its partner initiatives across Colombia and El Salvador, Acceso Haiti launched in 2014 to help farmers improve yields, lower costs, increase sales, and foster lasting partnerships to unlock key value chains.

In August 2021, one month after the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the island. In at least two cities in the western part of Haiti’s southern peninsula, the earthquake overwhelmed hospitals, damaged buildings, and trapped people under rubble. The earthquake left more than 650,000 people in need of immediate assistance. But even prior to this devastation, 4.4 million people—46 percent of the population—faced food insecurity, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

“Smallholder farmers in Haiti have been neglected for a long time now, long before the assassination of President Moïse and this recent earthquake,” Sergeline René, Director of Sales and Administration for Acceso Haiti, tells Food Tank. “They have lacked access to good inputs, cost-effective financing, key services, and markets—all of which Acceso is trying to change with its holistic model.” René adds that the country has “faced growing challenges linked to climate change, resulting in increasing food insecurity.”

In the aftermath of the earthquake, Acceso maintained operations and scaled up purchasing to help partners working on the front lines respond to immediate food needs. The social enterprise sourced and supplied over 136,000 kilograms of local fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as Acceso’s own Lavi Peanut Butter. Between August and September, Acceso provided over 700,000 meals and is working to produce more locally sourced food kits for affected communities. “These events have been a call to further actions for us,” Acceso Co-Founder Frank Giustra tells Food Tank.

Read the full article about farmers in local food systems by Vicky Brown Varela at Food Tank.