Coffee Industry - Haiti Observer Blog

Baradères, capital of the Baradères Arrondissement, formed in 2003 as part of Nippes Department. A commune with a population of 30,000, situated on the northwest peninsula of Haiti, it is well known for its agricultural output. Local farming, an economic force in the village, yields enough crops, to maintain a subsistence standard of living.

Baradères one export is coffee, beginning its exportation in 2006. The roasting technique creates an intensely-flavored and sweet French Roast. The fair-trade coffee produces enough profits to erect schools and medical facilities in Nippes Department.

Baradères terrain contains mountain ranges and vales, extending 60-plus miles away from the center. Homesteading occurs mostly in the vales, more hospitable for farming. Baradères River streams through the vales, pouring into the Gulf de la Gonave about a mile out of the village.

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Nestlé is spear-heading a program that will target Haitian coffee farmers, who have the natural resources to produce specialty coffees. The corporation is collaborating with the Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN), a division of the Inter-American Development Bank, along with L'Agence Française de Développement. The agencies will hand out $3.5 million in grants to re-invigorate Haiti's sagging coffee industry. Statistics cite export coffee production plummeted from 191,000 bags in 1990 to 16,000 bags nearly two decades later.

The comprehensive program includes best practices for sustainability farming, coffee bean harvesting, sorting, manufacturing processes, quality assurance, fair trade certification, and marketing. The coffee collectives will also learn cost-effective techniques to lower production costs. The program will also assist coffee farmers learn new business skills, including collective procurement of agricultural tools, machinery, and methods of bean roasting.

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