Faces of Recovery: Cooperating for a better future

Dominique Semezieu Beaubrun, President of the Platform of Agricultural Cooperatives of Anse d'Hainault (PLACAHA), is working with farmers to boost the production of cocoa and breadfruit as part of the post-earthquake recovery in the remote communities of Grand'Anse department.

“This department is no stranger to natural disasters. The latest disaster was the earthquake in August 2021, which left families in mourning and communities devastated. These communities were badly affected by the loss of livestock and agricultural production.

We are organizing ourselves to boost agricultural production, with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In the past there was a lot of cocoa production here, and we want to bring that back. That is why we have come together through the PLACAHA platform.

The objective is to enable farmers to have access to training programmes on the production of cocoa and processing techniques, and to have the necessary support available to regenerate their land. We are also trying to enhance the value of the breadfruit tree as a local food but also as a profitable crop to export to organic and fair trade markets. This will certainly increase the incomes of local farmers and producers and help them to meet the challenges they face on a  daily basis.”