Operational program grant no. 521-0169-G-00-3045-00 : Caribbean Basin initiative supplemental appropriation

(MEDA) to provide financial aid to enable Haiti"s small cocoa producers to process beans cooperatively and attract premium prices on the international market for the improved product. MEDA will supervise the production of export-quality beans and develop a network of producer-owned cocoa stations throughout Haiti which will be closely tied to existing PVO development programs. Under the project, PVO"s already carrying out rural development and reforestation programs in Haiti will sponsor the establishment of financially self-sufficient, producer-owned cocoa marketing associations in their respective geographic areas. MEDA will provide TA and training to the associations and to participating PVO"s in cultivation, species trials, demonstration plots, bean processing, cooperative formation, and marketing operations; monitor the construction of processing facilities; and maintain links to North American and European chocolate manufacturers and promote the "Chavannes" cocoa bean product. This project will be linked closely to a MEDA-supervised initiative in Grande Riviere du Nord. Linkages will be established with important public and private agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce; the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development; and the Haitian Development Foundation.