Although relief operations continue to be the central issue in Haiti, ACTED also aims at supporting rural populations which are also burdened by the aftermath of the earthquake. ACTED has conducted a thorough field-research. The ACTED teams are now setting up programmes to adequately respond to the communities' needs. To recover agricultural production and economic growth unquestionably implies rehabilitating the country's economic assets, which suffered from the earthquake. The ACTED teams have drawn together numerous assessments on the consequences of the disaster on the semi-peripheral and rural areas of Leogane, Gressier and Jacmel. Moreover, the teams have met with local communities, farmer groups, local associations and authorities to identify the most prominent issues in terms of food security and agriculture. The three targeted towns comprise over 350,000 people (roughly 70,000 families). These populations are largely rural-based (at 80%) and mostly rely on agriculture and livestock breeding.

The situation is alarming; numbers of food supplies were lost in the earthquake and important community infrastructure were heavily damaged, seriously harming the country's capacities in food production. In response to such issues, ACTED is putting forward several activities in support of the agriculture sector and to recover key agricultural facilities. As part of such initiatives, 4,000 women will receive seeds and tools. The beneficiaries will also pursue a technical training, held in partnership with local agricultural institutions. ACTED will additionally support small breeders by providing them with livestock and animal feed, as well as delivering veterinary trainings. Nonetheless, the fishing sector was not omitted from this recovery programme, with assistance to more than 2,000 fishermen in Jacmel as well as in rural areas.

The rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure is an inevitable step in the recovery of local food production. For this purpose, the most pressing is to repair the irrigation systems and to restore an economic activity, enabling the populations to generate regular incomes so to fulfill their most important needs.