The Brazilian Agricultural Research Company EMBRAPA has done satellite mapping to support the operations of the UN peace forces in Haiti. The images were produced at the request of the Ministry of Defense and executed by the EMBRAPA Satellite Monitoring unit, based in Campinas, São Paulo. The unit is a national model for this type of work. According to Marcelo Guimarães, the researcher who heads the Research division of the EMBRAPA Satellite Monitoring unit, the UN troops in Haiti can use the images to plan military tactics, furnish information to the agricultural sector, and help in the formulation of infrastructure projects, such as roads and rural electrification, in the country. Haiti’s principal deficiencies are in the areas of health, education, transportation, and agriculture.
