Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. is shipping tons of donated vegetable seeds to Haiti free of charge as the island nation struggles to recover from a devastating earthquake in January.

"We are dedicated to doing everything we can to get these and other life-saving supplies into the hands of Haiti's farmers and their families," said Ken Sternad, president of the UPS Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm.

U.S.-based Monsanto Company is donating $4 million in seeds to Haiti over the next 12 months. UPS and Kuehne + Nagel, a Swiss company, are providing shipping, logistic and distribution services, according to a news release. An initial shipment of 60 tons of seeds has already arrived in Haiti and will be distributed to farmers by the WINNER project, a five-year-program funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Donated seeds will be sold by farmer associations at a reduced price, with the revenue reinvested in other programs to help farmers.

"Our goal it to reach 10,000 farmers this growing season," said Jean Robert Estime, director of the WINNER project.

For more on the UPS Foundation, click here.

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