For agri livelihoods
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved US$7.75 million in additional financing for the Resilient Productive Landscapes in Haiti Project, which aims to improve adoption of resilient agriculture and landscape management practices.
"The World Bank is supporting Haiti's agricultural production during the emergency caused by the COVID19 pandemic," said Anabela Abreu, World Bank Country Director for Haiti. "This financing is important to improve livelihoods in the agriculture sector through increased productivity and better access to markets. The project will also support the long-term sustainability of agriculture through adaptation to changing weather patterns."
The agricultural sector supplies up to 45% of Haitian food needs and represents the main source of income for the rural population. However, production remains highly dependent on rainfall, and most farmers have limited access to agricultural inputs, knowledge, or credit. Increasing productivity and resilience of Haiti's agriculture sector requires an integrated approach that protects the environment, while seeking to increase returns. The financing approved today will support improved landscape management and farming practices, as well as market access for farmers. It will also strengthen the capacity of the Haitian Government to respond promptly and effectively in the case of a disaster.
The Resilient Productive Landscapes Project was approved in March 2018 with a US$15 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA), and US$ 6.21 million from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). In April 2020, the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) for US$9.9 million was activated to support food security during the pandemic and has so far already supported a total of 12,874 farmers in the Nippes and South regions and provided farming and technical support for more than 8,700 hectares of cropland.
Tony Georgiou sighed as he stood in front of a field full of parked taxi cabs, admitting he has lost count of how many are there.
Many London taxi drivers rent their instantly-recognisable black cabs from fleet companies such as GB Taxi Services, where Georgiou is one of the owners.
But with London's streets emptied by the coronavirus lockdown, many drivers are unable to keep paying for their vehicles and are handing them back in droves.
"There's probably around 150 to 200 vehicles that are here, which we've had to take off the road," said Georgiou, whose company has parked its vehicles in Epping northeast of the capital. "I've lost count".
Famed worldwide, the British capital's bulbous black cabs were originally designed to accommodate a passenger in a top hat.
To earn a license, drivers have to pass a fiendishly difficult exam called "The Knowledge", which tests their recall of streets, routes and landmarks purely from memory. But fields full of taxis are now a mass phenomenon, said Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA).
"It's happening all over, all round the M25 there are fields with cabs like that," said McNamara, referring to the main orbital motorway around London.
He called the situation "totally and utterly unprecedented" and "already not survivable for some".
Georgiou said that around 50 of the parked vehicles have already been targeted by thieves who removed catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters that will cost some 120,000 pounds ($160,000, 134,000 euros) to replace.
"I couldn't tell you if we are confident to get through this at the moment. It is a struggle," he said of his company, which has been operating for over 16 years.
Currently, only some 20 percent of cabs are operating, McNamara said, basing the assessment on the association's own vehicle counts and official figures from Heathrow Airport.