Social Investment Programs supported by JMB S.A.

We support numerous social investment programs to help ensure the long-term prosperity of the farming communities

Support for schools: For decades, JMB has seen the need to actively participate in the education and social development of the families in the farming communities with which it works. This has led to our support for various projects including the building and operation of two rural schools in major production areas - provided them with computers and internet access and subsidizing school fees for needy students.

Support of sports activities: JMB also supports local youth sports activities, particularly soccer. We also collaborate with a local sports association, Athelic d'Haiti.

Support for improved agricultural production: JMB is committed to improving the best crop varieties and expanding their production, and has for decades been actively involved in such programs.

At JMB we feel an obligation to improve the quality of life of our workers and the suppliers of our products.

Support for schools

JMB support for schools at Fond Jean Noël and Cazal

Fond Jean Noël: Since the mid-90s JMB has been supporting the high school at Fond Jean Noël. The school, situated near Marigot in the south-east of Haiti, has 480 students many of whom are unable to cover their scholastic fees.

JMB has given financial support for teachers' salaries and has subsidized the tuition for students whose parents are unable to pay their fees.

After fifteen years of supporting the school at Fond Jean Noël, realizing the students' need to participate in the global IT revolution, JMB along with other private sector organizations decided to install computers and provide Internet access.

We have provided the school in Fond Jean Noel with solar panels, computers and internet access as a pilot project. The equipment was not merely given to the school, a training program was provided over a 6-month period. Haitec, an IT company, helped to train the staff on the school and adults from the local community in basic skills with software such as MS Word, Excel and graphic design programs.

The program has given the students access to equipment and the Internet, helping to expland their knowledge and learn more about computers. Information technology levels the playing-field by allowing third-world students and professionals access to the same resources as people in developed countries.

The Germain school in Cazal: in 2004, JMB became involved in a similar project in the Germain school in Cazal, north of Port-au-Prince, which has 120 students. Our aim is to help expand the facilities and allow more students to addend the school.

Support for sports programs

JMB's initiatives in the agricultural sector

Local youth sports activities: For many years JMB has been supporting sports activities for local youths. JMB has equiped and supports a local neighborhood soccer team, as well as other sports teams. The aim is give the young kids from deprived neighborhoods the opportunity to enjoy sport activities after school.

Since October 2000 JMB have been supporting the great work done by Athletic d’Haiti with the children of Cité Soleil. The program also provides the children with one hot meal a day - it provides one of the best public soccer pitches in Haiti and offers training, food, medicine and schooling to kids from the slums of Cité Soleil. The aim is to use sports as a tool to bring children into the program where they can get shelter, nourishment, and a free education, opening up countless new opportunities for them and their families.

Support of agricultural improvements

JMB's initiatives in the agricultural sector

Experimenting with new varieties of calabaza.



New varieties: the Coeur d'Or mango and sigatoka-resistant bananas.



Laying plastic mulch for a drip irrigation plantation with ORE.

Since the 1980s, JMB has been working along with non-profit organizations like ORE on improving the best crop varieties and expanding their production.

Though agriculture is the primary source of income for the majority of Haitians, there is a tremendous need to improve farmers' access to technical know-how, introduce the best planting materials and improve production. As a result, JMB in collaboration with various non-profit organizations has imported and tested numerous new mango varieties, commercial hot peppers, papayas, calabaza and other crops.

We are actively participating in the promotion improved planting and harvesting techniques. With training and assistance it is possible to vastly improve the farmers' income by reducing losses in the field (from poor picking techniques) and after harvest (in appropriate transportation and handling).

We have also promoted the use of drip irrigation and other means of increasing agricultural outputs.

JMB is committed to supporting improved crops that will help farmer's make money from commercial agriculture rather simply struggling to survive from subsistence farming. Often the answer is in the varieties of fruit, vegetables and root crops that farmers plant. We want to help give them access to the best seeds and plant materials for crops which are in demand internationally.

So far we have been working with several crops that are showing promise: the deep orange-colored calabaza which is an favorite 'ethnic food' among people from the Caribbean, central and South America; a delicious new mango variety, the Coeur d'Or, developed by ORE - which though too fragile for the hot-water treatment required for fresh fruit export, will be excellent for IQF; and also we are experimenting with ORE on the development of banana and plantain varieties which are resistant to the sigatoka virus which is decimating these crops in the Caribbean.

Although mangos are the mainstay of Haiti's agricultural exports, we are strongly motivated to help farmers with all the crops that offer them a chance to earn more income and provide better nutrition to their families. We would like to see them maximize the benefits from improved production and better access to the international marketplace.