Haitian Growers Benefit from Vetiver Production

One of the specialty crops Haitian growers produce is vetiver, an essential oil. It is grown only in three rural towns: Massey, Faucault, and Bazelais, for Givaudan perfumers. Because the oil is so valued by Givaudan, they make growing, harvesting, and manufacturing vetiver an attractive proposition to the farmers in the region.

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Givaudan has teamed up with the vetiver growers to form the Givaudan/Agri-Supply (GAS) cooperative. It is intended to fortify the delivery system for vetiver from Haiti. Both Agri-Supply, composed of Haitian growers, and Givaudan have pooled their resources to contribute to the development fund. Out of this fund, the growers are insured a minimum price for their labor, and backup technical assistance to help better the harvesting and distillation methods.

Vetiver is a dry-season crop, and must grow to maturity before it can be pulled out of the ground. Once harvested, the roots are washed off to keep soil erosion to a minimum. It also enhances the quality of the oil. Because GAS has set quality assurance standards, Ecocert has certified the locally-grown oil as ESR compliant.

Once the roots have been washed, it is delivered quickly to the distillery. To ensure fast delivery, the development fund was used to repair the road between the growers and the distillery. For the growers, having a navigable road means they can travel about the region to markets, schools, health clinics, and for general commerce transactions. Givaudan is administering GAS under the Innovative Naturals Program.

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Read more: Vetiver, Massey, Faucault, Bazelais, Agriculture and Food

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