Aligning growth and impact are key to harnessing purpose for competitive advantage.

By Real Leaders

Groundswell International is a partnership of local organizations and their network of grassroots community groups in West Africa, the Americas, and South Asia. Founded in 2009, its programs catalyze the transition from unsustainable agriculture and extractive economies to regenerative and just farming and local food systems. Communities and family farmers improve their well-being, produce more abundant and nourishing food in ecologically sustainable ways, increase their incomes, build resilience to climate change, and strengthen local economies and cultures. Programs promote women’s leadership and gender equity. Here’s a look at its program in Haiti.

Help for Haiti

Working with farmer associations in northern Haiti, Groundswell International implements agroecological practices that regenerate farmland, increase small-scale family farmers’ income, and strengthen local markets. This project is done in collaboration with local partner nongovernmental organization Partenariat pour le Développement Local. In the face of Haiti’s escalating challenges, agroecology emerges as a potential poverty crisis solution.

Doubling Profitability

Recently, Groundswell International completed a cost-benefit analysis comparing agroecological farming to conventional farming in Haiti. Its program benefited over 9,900 farmers and has led to a doubling of per-hectare profitability within the program area. On average, agroecological farmers earn nearly double the net income of their conventional counterparts. In addition, the program enhanced land productivity, vegetative cover, and climate resilience for agroecological plots, despite lower amounts of rainfall. It also improved water retention and carbon sequestration in soil, reduced topsoil losses and mudslides, and heightened food security.

Photo Credit: Ben Depp