The Startup Which Fights GMOs in Haiti
This story takes place in Fondwa, a small mountainous community village in western Haiti. A good 80% of its inhabitants rely on farming for their subsistence. Junior Beauvais knows. He used to wake up early in the morning with his grandfather and prepare the land in planting seasons. He witnessed that the man ended up with nothing despite of his best efforts. The story inspired him to study agronomy at Virginia Tech in the United States and to find a solution. He came up with the idea of re-introducing native crop seeds in the agricultural system of Haiti. Junior, 26, is helped by friends and Virginia Tech colleagues Enel Delice (Haiti, 28) and Fang Wan (China, 22). They named their project Haitian Heirloom Seed Bank.
Most of the 6,000 Fondwa inhabitants rely on farming. Beans, corn, and sorghum are the main crops. In the 1980s farmers were offered genetically modified organisms (GMO). They replaced their heirloom seeds with the donated ones, only to discover that GMO seeds are not as productive as their native varieties. Yields have dramatically decreased over time, impoverishing local farmers, provoking health problems and malnutrition, and increasing the population's vulnerability. Not to mention that GMOs need to be purchased anew every season. Thus farmers are dependent on cash economy more than ever. Replacing the seeds again is not an easy task, for farmers at least: the heirloom seeds aren't available anymore in the area.
"The Seed Bank is a collection center that will buy, treat, preserve and sell seeds at an affordable price", Beauvais says. "The bank will collect seeds from Haiti areas that are remote and difficult to access. Students from the local rural University of Fondwa will retrain farmers about the heirloom seeds. The practice will increase annual crop production, enhance local economic viability, improve local food quality, increase local resilience and autonomy, provide new jobs. And of course, preserve Haiti's heirloom seeds for future generations". Storing is an important part of the project. One seed bag costs $2.5 but may skyrocket to $5 during the planting season. Yet farmers tend to buy seeds in high season because they lack facilities to store the seeds and are reluctant to take any risk. The Seed Bank will buy in low season and store the seeds in an appropriate facility to resell them at a fair price.
The Haitian Heirloom Seed Bank will be located in a local public market called Tombe Gateau. Mule owners will earn cash by transporting seeds across the countryside to Fondwa. The project won the Barilla Good4 international contest, in the "Good4 our Communities" category and was rewarded with €15,000. "We're going to use the Barilla fund to start our project, but we are still looking for more help to complete it. We want to eradicate the GMO seeds in the area before things become worse".