PISA: One Step Closer to Sustainable Cacao in Northern production Haiti

In an ongoing effort to create a unique and increasingly sustainable cacao market system, PISA has partnered with the Program for Agricultural and Agroforestry Technological Innovation Program (PITAG), a bilateral program implemented by the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture (MARNDR) and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to install a clonal cacao garden on a one- hectare plot managed by PISA.

This cacao clonal garden will allow PISA to conserve clones that produce cacao with the best organoleptic characteristics, and which have the highest yields while continuing research on intercropping cacao trees with vanilla. This demonstration plot will also enable data collection on potential maximum yields of an organized multi- crop production system. The field preparation began in June 2022 and planting activities will include 975 cacao trees, 760 banana trees, and an additional 215 shade trees.

"These cacao clone trees will produce cacao and will be used as a graft source for APROCANO's farmer network and PISA's nursery. I look forward to participating in the process of cloning the best quality cacao trees in Northern Haiti. We are one step closer to transforming our producers' cacao into a sustainable and unique premium product." Aline Etlicher, COP Cacao and Vanilla Project.

This partnership will also give PISA the opportunity to collaborate with Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF) and AYITIKA. Both have been subcontracted by PITAG to train PISA staff on technical guidelines for the installation and maintenance of the cacao clonal demonstration plot and to provide characterized genetic material for the cacao clones.