As part of the preparation for the Resilient Productive Landscapes (RPL) project, farmers in the four watersheds participated in workshops to determine the most important agricultural and infrastructure interventions for their region. In community after community, farmers explained that for decades, key limes were one of the most important products in the NIppes department. The value chain included the local market, where people rely on the strong citrus juice for preparation of meats and fish, to the export market, where Haitian key lime oil is considered a very valuable cooking ingredient.
Today, key limes are no longer produced in Nippes because pests destroyed orchards across the region, forcing farmers to cultivate other produce in their place. If lime trees could thrive in NIppes again, it would have a tremendous impact on the local economy.
In May 2018, a pilot program was launched to field test a new strategy for protecting the lime trees. In order to create what is called a phytorifulsive barrier, guava trees are planted around the lime trees, creating a line that pests won’t cross. So far, 1,120 key lime trees have been planted with 120 guava trees to protect them. And because the pilot has already begun to prove that this technical approach can be successful, more key lime trees will be added until a total of 5,000 lime trees are healthy and growing in the region.