Haiti: Government Delegation to Visit Irrigation Canal Works

On Wednesday, a government delegation is set to visit the works of the irrigation canal being built in Ouanaminthe, northeastern Haiti, which caused a conflict with the neighboring Dominican Republic.

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A source quoted by Le Nouvelliste newspaper said that the committee will be composed of the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Trade and Industry, James Cadet, Charlot Bredy and Ricardin Saint Jean, respectively.

The committee is also to be accompanied by the director general of the National Geospatial Information Center, Boby Emmanuel Piard.

According to official reports, the objective of the mission is to express the Government's solidarity with the farmers, said the source, noting that Haitians, like their Dominican neighbors, have the right to use shared water resources, including the Masacre River.

In addition, the delegation will pave the way for the dispatch of a commission to gather information on the technical and financial needs of the works.

Official data shows that, in August, farmers and residents of Ouanaminthe restarted the construction of the irrigation canal that was halted after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.

Moreover, the construction should allow the irrigation of some 3,000 hectares of the Maribaroux plain, in the northeast of the country, an area considered Haiti's second-largest granary.

However, the water intake was not well received by the neighboring authorities, who accused the initiators of trying to divert the Masacre river.

In retaliation, Santo Domingo unilaterally closed the border, suspended visas to Haitian citizens and prohibited bi-national trade and transportation.

For its part, the Haitian government defended its sovereign right to use the water resources and assured that the works will not be stopped, despite pressure from the Dominican Republic.