Plan Nasyonal Envestisman Agrikol Ayiti

République d’Haïti Repiblik d’Ayiti MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT HAITI NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT PLAN MAIN DOCUMENT [ORIGINAL VERSION AVAILABLE IN FRENCH] MAY 2010 HAITI NATIONAL AGRICUTURAL INVESTMENT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Exchange Rate ...................................................................................................................... ii Abreviations.........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1 1. PRE-EARTHQUAKE SITUATION ...................................................................................3 A. Socio-Economic context ...................................................................................................3 B. Agricutural and Rural Sectors ........................................................................................4 C. Support Services and Structurisation of Area ...............................................................6 D. Recent Development in Alimentary Condition ..............................................................8 2. EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUKE ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ................9 A. Direct Impacts...................................................................................................................9 B. Indirect Impacts..............................................................................................................10 3. RESPONSE TO STRATEGIC PLAN OF SUPPORT.....................................................12 A. Government Response....................................................................................................12 B. Support by Using the National Plan of Agricultural Development ...........................12 4. INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE HAITIAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR........................................................................................................... A. DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL INFRASTUCTURES................................................15 A.1. Watershed and Forestry Development Plan ...................................................15 A. 2. Irrigation ...........................................................................................................18 B. PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL FIELDS .............22 B.1. Livestock Farming .............................................................................................22 B.2. Aquaculture and Fishing...................................................................................27 B.3. Vegetative Production …...………………………………………………… 30 B.3.1. Access to Inputs and Agricultural Tools.......................................................30 B.3.2. Rural Credit.....................................................................................................35 B.3.3. Post Harvest Management and Commercialization ...................................37 B. 3.4. Urban and Surburban Agriculture ..............................................................43 B.3.5. Local Pruduction and Humanitarian Projects (Local Transactions) ......46 C. AGRICULTURAL SERVICES AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT......................47 C.1. Popularization by « farm school » .................................................................47 C.2. Land Access and Security of Land ................................................................49 C.3. Institutional Support of Public Agricultural Services .................................52 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan 5. IMPLEMANTATION AND MONITORING OF PLAN ................................................58 A. Principal Associations ………………………………………………………………..58 B. Contribution of Support Sectors to the Agricultural and Rural Development ….59 C.Gender Approach...……………………………………………………………………60 D. Monitoring ……………………………………………………………………………..60 E. Communication Plan ………………………………………………………………….61 6. COST AND FINANCING PLAN ……...……...………………………………..…62 A. Methodology……………………………………………………………………...62 A. Cost Review of Investment Plan …………...……………………………………63 B. Sample Financing Plan……...……………………………………………………64 7. ANTICIPATED IMPACTS OF INVESTMENTS…..……………………..……65 A.Principal Beneficiaries…………………………………………………………………65 B. Technical Impacts.…………………………………………………………….………..66 C. Environmental Impact…………………………………………………………………67 D. Financial and Economic Impact……………………………………………………..…68 8. RISK ANALYSIS……………………………………...……………………………..71 APPENDIX 1. Investment Plan Implementation Calendar 2. Result Matrix 3. Table of Financing Plan 4. Table of Recurrent Cost ANNEX 1. Watershed and Forest Development Plan 2. Irrigation 3. Livestock Farming 4. Aquaculture and Fishing 5. Access to Inputs and Agricultural Tools 6. Urban and Surburban Agriculture 7. Post Harvest Management and Commercialization 8. Rural Credit 9. Local Production and Humanitarian Projects (Local Transactions) 10. Popularisation by “Farm Schools” 11. Land Access and Security of Land 12. Institutional Support of Public Agricultural Services ii HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan Exchange Rate (February 2010) 1 USD = 39.5 Gourde (HTG) 1 HTG = 0.025316456 USD Measuring Units 1 carreau = 1,29 hectare 1marmite = 3-6.5 lbs Fiscal Year October 1 – September 30 Abbreviations and Acronyms BAC: Municipal Agricultural Office BCA: Agricultural Credit Bank BID: Inter-American Development Bank BRH: Bank of the Republic of Haiti CNSA: National Food Security Coordination CRDA: Center for Research and Agricultural Documentation CUMA: Agricultural Material Use Cooperative DCP: Fish Concentration Device DDA: Board of the Agricultural Department DSNCRP: National Strategic Document of Growth Poverty Reduction FAO: UN organization for agriculture and Food and Agricultural Organization FMI: International Monetary Fund GSB: Association of Animal Health GTA: Agricultural Working Group IICA: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture INARA: National Institute for Agriculture Reform MAE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs MARNDR: Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development MCI: Ministry of Commerce and Industry M &E: Monitoring and Evaluation MEF: Ministry of Economics and Finance MTPTC: Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Communication ODVA: Organization for the Development of Artibonite Valley NGO: Non-Governmental Organization OP: Farmer Organization iii HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan OPA: Agricultural Professional Organization PDNA: Post Disaster Needs Assessment WFP: United Nations World Food Program PIB: Gross Domestic Product PNCS: National Program for School Cafeteria PPI: Small Irrigated Perimeters PRIMA: Integrated Reinforcement Program of Businesses in Haiti SAGE: Food Security and Sustainable Management of the Environment SI: Irrigated system SIM: Market Information System TM: Metric Ton iv HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan INTRODUCTION While it may not be considered one of the most affected sectors by the earthquake of January 12, 2010, the agricultural sector will play a major role not only for food security of the population, but also for the economic recovery and the social stability of Haiti. This implies the urgent need for all the necessary support to the sector, as well in the short term, by urgent interventions that will allow to respond to immediate alimentary needs, as well as in the medium and longer term, in order to revive, modernize, and boost the agricultural sector. For the government the agricultural sector has always been the pillar of development and of poverty reduction in the country, as can be proven by the published official documents, notably the National Strategic Document of Growth and Poverty Reduction (DSNCRP). The new reality created by the January 12 disaster imposes the creation of a medium-to-long term program, which aims to reach significant and lasting growth of the national agricultural production in compliance with the national policies of agricultural development. The Investment Plan of the agricultural sector that follows the program is a result of a common effort produced by the principal partner institutions (IICA, FAO through its investment center), and the leaders and technical executives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (MARNDR). The term agriculture will be understood in a broader sense in this document, including the principal economic activities of the rural environment particularly agriculture, farming, fishing, aquaculture, forestry, and fish farming. The proposed actions in this recovery plan are based on the orientation document and the plea drafted immediately after the earthquake, and on the action plan prepared in the executive offices of PDNA. The components of the Investment Plan are based on three points of intervention that have been retained during the assembly in Santo Domingo on March 16 and 17, 2010, alongside the PDNA, on the recovery of the agricultural sector. The total cost of the Investment Plan is approximately USD 772 million and the different components are divided as follow: (i) Development of Rural Infrastructure - Development of watersheds and forests - Irrigation (ii) Production and Development of Sub-Sectors - Livestock farming - Aquaculture and fishing - Vegetal Sub-Sectors by access to inputs and agricultural tools rural credit post harvest management and commercialization - Urban and suburban agriculture - Local production and humanitarian operations (local purchases) 1 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan (iii) Agricultural Services and Institutional Support - Extension through “farm schools” - Land access and land tenure security - Institutional support to public agricultural services (research, training, phytosanitary protection, institutional strengthening) This document was, as discussed and agreed upon during the assembly in Santo Domingo,1part of consultations with the civil society and the private sector, and was presented to the international community in order to mobilize the necessary resources for its implementation. As a result, the following activities were organized: ∙ A presentation and discussion session between the Ministry of Agriculture and the sector group comprised by the principal financial partners. ∙ A presentation and discussion session between the Ministry of Agriculture and the principal stakeholders of the agricultural sector (agriculture cluster) ∙ Meetings in Washington between the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and experts from the World Bank, USDA, and USAID. ∙ A national workshop of information and debate on agricultural policies and the investment plan, organized for the following actors: - Farmer organizations - Local authorities - Non-Governmental organizations - agricultural private sector - International institution for financial and technical cooperation - Other ministries - Oral, written, and televised media ∙ An open day to the public and the youths, including conferences and debates, information stands, and videos The suggestions collected during these different activities have allowed the completion and improvement of the first version of the Agricultural Investment Plan. This current document includes, besides the introduction, seven major points. The first point is about the situation prior to the earthquake retraces the socio-economic context of Haiti and the general rural and agricultural context. The second point underlines the effects of the earthquake on the agricultural sector. The third point recalls a strategic framework for the response, which will be contributed. The fourth point develops the strategies and proprietorship programs. The fifth point gives a preview of the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the plan. The sixth point sums up the cost of the investment plan and provides an indicative financial plan, and the seventh point offers a summarized evaluation of the anticipated impacts of the investment. 1 Aide-mémoire, Santo Domingo. March 17, 2010 2 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan 1. PRE-EARTHQUAKE SITUATION1 A. Socio-Economic Context 1.1 The Republic of Haiti has a surface area of 27,750 km2and a population estimated at 9.8 million people (2008) of which 60% live in rural areas. Among the 10 geographic departments of the country, the department of the West absorbs in itself 39% of the total population with a high concentration in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince (25% of the population). With a GDP per capita estimated at 648 USD, Haiti is the poorest country of the Americas and the Caribbean. The achievements of the Haitian economy in the last two decades have been particularly affected not only by political crisis that have wounded the people’s life but also by a series of devastating natural disasters. In addition, the political and agricultural programs, in the past, have not been able to furnish the necessary basic needs for an increase of productivity in the agricultural sub sector. It has been observed, however, that the income of the farmers varies a lot among the different products and crops. (See table below) Table 1. Summary of Estimated Support to Producers 2per Product, 2005 (US$) Plantain Beef Corn Coffee Yam Manioc Rice Haricot Sorghum Total Estimated Support to Producer (PSE) million 20 30 19 5 3 24 44 15 21 243 Market Price Support (MPS) 20 30 16 4 1 23 26 14 20 214 Total Fiscal Transfers 1 0 3 2 2 1 18 1 1 29 Percentage PSE 15% 28% 25% 9% 3% 26% 48% 37% 71% 36.7% PSE (per hectare/head) $ 1,015 $ 20 $ 67 $ 53 $ 141 $ 576 $ 735 $ 122 $ 212 $ 321 PSE (per farmers) $ 406 $ 60 $ 64 $ 26 n/a n/a $ 339 $ 61 $ 106 $ 149 Source: Arias and al. (2008) and MARNDR, 2005. 1.2 Poverty is a phenomenon of great concern. It is estimated that over 5 million individuals (55% of the population) live in poverty in Haiti. The impact of poverty and of extreme poverty is far more important in rural areas where 88% of individuals live below the poverty level. There, agriculture represents the principal activity and the basic services are practically nonexistent. For every 100 person affirming to be unable to satisfy their alimentary needs in the country, 77 are located in rural areas, 9 in the metropolitan area and 14 in other cities. B. Agricultural and Rural Sectors 1.3 The Haitian agriculture contributes to over 25% of the GDP. According to results provided by MARNDR/FAO in February 2010, agriculture is practiced by a little more than 1,000,000 farms having at their disposition on average 1.5 ha of land divided into many parcels3. 1 Unless indicated, the information included in this chapter are issued from the report « Politic of Recovery of Agricultural Sector 2008 – 2020 », MARNDR /FAO, May 2008. 2 The estimation for Support to Producers (PSE) is the percentage of revenue of the producer which corresponds to policy mesures and agricultural programs. The PSE is measured according to the standard methods of the OECD (see: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/48/32361345.pdf). 3Source : MARNDR/FAO, general recessment of agriculture 2010 3 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan This average, however, conceals an imbalance in which some farmers dispose of over 5 hectares and others less than ¼ hectare. The demographic pressure and the continual increase of the demands for goods drive farmers to cultivate marginal lands unfit for agricultural production, especially for yearlong farming. However, cases exist where mountain agriculture, and especially forestry agriculture has been able to slow down the deterioration of the soil, while increasing the revenues of the producers. It is for this reason that the Haitian agriculture is not only a problem of land deterioration, but also a key element towards the solution of environmental problems in the country. 1.4 The existent environmental diversity allows a large range of farming systems. The country is predominantly mountainous with more than half of the lands having slopes superior to 40%. The plains occupy only 20% of the total surface of the country with 550,000 ha. The exploitable potential is of 7,700 km² (29%), but the cultivated surface area is 11,900 km² (44%), this means that 420,000 ha of marginal land is used for farming. 1.5 The environmental situation of the country is characterized by a weak covering of forests and an accelerated deterioration of its surroundings. The forest coverage has been considerably reduced in the past 30 years. Actually less than 2% of the territory can be classified as dense forest. However, there are existing reforestation cases where the mountain farmers have the right incitation. The commercial production of wood charcoal at Fond des Blancs, or the increase of fruit trees (especially mangoes) in the south west, are examples to follow. Approximately 85% of the country’s watersheds are either deteriorated or rapidly transformed, causing frequent flooding, and a depletion or the extension of some basic factors in the agricultural production. The availability of irrigation water is not known with accuracy because no trusted hydrologic data exists. According to available statistics, the irrigation potential at the national level is between 135,000 and 150,000 ha; however, only 80,000 ha out of the 90,000 developed hectares are actually irrigated. Throughout time, the irrigation systems have suffered successive deteriorations imputable to the lack of maintenance and seasonal hurricanes. In addition, the service cost of irrigation water has not been established at an adequate level and is not, at the present time, being paid for by the majority of the people who irrigate. Nevertheless, irrigation associations, which were established with the support of some institutions, have begun to play an important role in the operation and the maintenance of irrigation systems. 1.6 The land situation, in Haiti, is characterized by the small farm size (1.5 ha on average). The insecurity of land can be observed everywhere throughout the country. The following causes are applicable: the range of the surface area in joint tenancy and the illegal transactions, the alienation of land tax in tenure and the acquisition of important surfaces by shirkers, and the allocation of these lands in sharecropping. There are two methods of land management in Haiti: the formal management by the government and the informal management by the peasants based on the manners and customs. The lands with informal types of management such as joint ownership, ownership without a legal act, sharecropping and farming represent 75% of exploited parcels. This land insecurity creates a reticence or even the fear of investment and promotes the emergence of conflict and violence. Nevertheless, practical actions by the land registry in rural communities and an improvement in maintaining formal land management (without necessarily producing proprietorship titles) have increased the security in land in some areas of the country, at least temporarily. The revision of the land regulation framework is, nevertheless, the preliminary factor leading to reforestation and the protection of watersheds. 4 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan 1.7 The road network in the rural area is quite inefficient. Numerous sections throughout the country with a high potential of production are isolated and practically inaccessible during the rainy season. Because of the bad shape of these roads, important volumes of products, in particular fruits and vegetables rot on the spot, discouraging the farming of these crops. In general, it is admissible that the post harvest losses reach for various reasons 35percent depending on the crop. Another notable factor is the lack of an adequate structure of storage and cash management which leads producers to sell their produce immediately after the harvest. This situation explains the high fluctuations in prices throughout the year and the poor quality of the products available in the market, notably meat, fruits and vegetables. Access to electrical power is also another major constraint to the development of certain agricultural sub-sector. 1.8 Livestock farming constitutes an important part of the production activities for the Haitian farmers. Livestock farming has different functions within the agricultural exploitation. It constitutes cash for daily spending and a capital for important investment, in particular poultry and pork. However, livestock farming activities, notably the production of milk, which is part of the rich diversity of the rural exploitation, if well managed can constitute an interesting alternative to the activities that degrades surroundings, such as hoeing certain crops. The Haitian NGO, VETERIMED, as, in fact, developed a milking model using basic infrastructures and simple equipments for the production of bottled sterilized milk and yogurts. A system is actually established at the national level and every year it is extended to other regions of the country. Nevertheless, the lower sectors still suffers from insufficient infrastructure of production, processing, and commercialization. 1.9 Fishing is an important activity for many households, with 50,000 people working either full time or part time. The country disposes of approximately 1,700 km of seacoast and 22,000 ha of inland waters. In this environment, many species of fish exist that are in demand both locally and internationally. The fishing/aquaculture sector possesses susceptible benefits to encourage productive investments from a good organization. However, this sector is not well developed and confronts major constraints such as equipments of low quality, the deficit in the infrastructure of processing, conservation and commercialization, and the rarity of credit sources. 1.10 The agro alimentary sector is in general not well developed. The agro alimentary sector faces many constraints and notably insufficient infrastructures of communication and basic services, a limited access to formal sources of financing and international markets mainly because of the international sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. The field study financed by IDB in 2005 has established a dozen of networks or group of networks for which the public support is supposed to have the greatest effectiveness in terms of rural economic development. Among the prominent produces are rice, plantain/banana, beans, legumes, roots, dairy products, farm chickens, goods for exportation such coffee, cocoa, mangoes, roots, natural oils, produces capable of contributing to the creation of wealth. The following table indicates the contribution of the principal agricultural product in Haiti. Table 2. Main products and their contribution to the agricultural production in Haiti, 2005 5 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan Volume Volume Volume Volume Value of % of total Production1 Produced Consumed Imported Exported Production (MT) (MT) (MT) (MT) (USD) Plantain/Banana 300,000 316,000 20,000 4,000 84,410,738 13.3% Beef 42,000 40,600 100 1,500 75,031,767 11.8% Corn 232,000 244,000 18,000 6,000 73,359,630 11.6% Coffee 24,000 14,400 - 9,600 54,022,872 8.5% Yam 199,000 198,500 - 500 52,259,626 8.2% Manioc 340,000 340,700 700 - 32,799,601 5.2% Rice 76,800 420,800 356,000 12,000 29,841,205 4.7% Haricot 50,000 57,500 17,500 10,000 26,797,060 4.2% Sorghum 90,000 90,000 - - 26,046,742 4.1% PRODUCTION AGRICOLE TOTALE 634,473,320 100% OF SELECTED PRODUCT 71.6% Source: MARNDR, 2006 C. Support Services and Structuring of Environment 1.11 Three great categories of actors and operators are directly involved in the flow of activities or in the definition of policies: (i) the public actors and operators (the different ministries and public institutions, the territorial communities); (ii) the farmers, producers, rural entrepreneurs and their organizations; and (iii) the actors and operators of assistance and services (NGO, universities, consulting firms, agro-enterprises business stores). Among the public institutions are found primarily the government Ministries (MARNDR, MDE, MPCE, MEF, and MICT). The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (MARNDR), through its decentralized structures (DDA, SDDA, BAC, and research and training centers), and the independent entities under their supervision (ODVA, CNSA, INARA, INCAH, BCA) is naturally the most involved. An institutional audit will be established to improve the effectiveness and the performance of their interventions. The territorial communities are an important public actor for the development of the rural sector. According to the law of April 4, 1996, the territorial community’s mission is to guarantee the socio-economic development of their regions. 1.12 Towards the end of the 1970’s through the beginning of the 1990’s, agronomical research was an important element of the agricultural sector through twenty research/training/development centers. These structures specialized in different sub-sector in the area of their establishment, have set up and dissiminated technical packages adaptable to different environmental conditions of the country. In addition, these centers have participated in the formation and the recycling of many interested actors in the agricultural sector, notably some producers, students, superior and lower technical management staff. The support services that the research center offered are practically inexistent today. The recovery of these supports, on a decentralized basis, is highly desirable. 1.13 A constraint to the improvement of agricultural productivity remains in the low availability and limited access to agricultural inputs such as quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, 1The value of the production is calculated as the value added through the chain of supply, the margins retained by the producers, the transporters, the markinting, and sale. (It is not the price muliplied by the volume) 6 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan veterinary products, livestock feedings, tools, machines, etc. The annual consumption of fertilizers has been estimated to 25 to 30,000 TM. The level of usage of fertilizer in the Haitian agriculture is among the lowest in the world. The lack of agricultural tools is also evident throughout the country. The private sector developed the commercialization of inputs in the 1990’s when the public sector decreased the direct interventions in the market. However, after the 2008 storms and the last emergency programs, the role of the private sector in the commercialization of inputs (especially fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural tools) has again diminished. 1.14 Regarding rural credit, there is a high demand in the agricultural and the agro industrial sector coming mainly from enterprises that are in need of funds for activities related to exports. The Bureau of Agriculture Credit (BCA) is the public institution designated to grant credit in rural regions through the refinancing of micro finance institutions working in rural areas. But these intermediary agents who greatly dominate the rural environment are more interested in urban and suburban area and mainly grant credits to non-agricultural rural activities such as businesses. The choice is very limited. The conditions are predefined, non-negotiable, and not adaptable to the principal activities of the primary producing sector, especially with the rhythm of reimbursement that is most frequently monthly and short term. 1.15 Commercialization support is very often insufficient, which constitute a restraint to the long term increase of production and income of the farmers. The elimination of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers in the 1990’s, without a program of agricultural investment, has lead to an overflow of imported alimentary goods in the market which the Haitian agriculture could not face. This high competition of foreign goods has consequently discouraged the local producers and caused the decline o the national agricultural production, an increase in the commercial deficit, and an increase in the country’s dependency on foreign goods. The negative effects of commercial freedom are very important notably in the rice and livestock sectors. Today, Haiti is one of the most open countries in the matter of importation is of agricultural goods. (See table below). Table 3. Import Taxes for certain alimentary goods Taxes Rice 5% Sugar 3% Corn 15% Plantain 0% Sorghum 0% Haricot 5% Pork 5% Poultry 5% Source: Christian Aid, 2006 cited by GTA, 2007 7 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan D. Recent Development in the Condition of Food Insecurity 1 1.16 Haiti’s food supply comes from three sources: the national production, private imports, and food aid. Imports are the primary source. Between 2003 and 2005, the national production counted for an average of 43% of available alimentary goods, while imports of food remained at approximately 51%, and the food aid at around 6%. Comparatively, in 1981 food imports did not even reach 19%. 1.17 For a long time, the majority of the population has been facing a fatal and chronic alimentary problem. For over 15 years the situation has been described as critical. The Global Index of Food Security (IGSM)2for the period 1991-93 was 26.5 against 67.5 for 1988-90, which translate a great decline attesting the passage from an intermediate phase to a an extremely critical phase. The principal information based on estimation conducted through three basic research surveys3reveals that: i) one Haitian out of two live in extreme poverty (with less than 1$ EU per day); ii) half of the population do not have access to the daily ration established by FAO (225 kg equivalent cereal/one individual); et iii) 80% of households say they cannot adequately satisfy their alimentary needs. 1.18 The population’s food insecurity, estimated by CNSA and FEWSNET, according to the variables of the agricultural production, access to revenues, access to basic services, the condition of the road system, the environment and the nutritional situation, has dropped from 3 million inhabitants in April 2008 to 1.9 million in September 2009, following the increase in the national agricultural production registered resulting from consensual investments by the government and financial partners. Nevertheless, the food insecurity remains particularly high in certain areas of the departments of the North West, Artibonite, South East, Grande Anse and Nippes that have difficult access and that were greatly affected by the hurricanes of 2008. 2. EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE ON THE AGRICULURAL SECTOR A. Direct Impacts 2.1 The infrastructure of the urban and suburban area, surrounding the epicenter of the January 12, 2010 earthquake, has suffered important damages. Irrigation canals, storage and processing centers have been greatly damaged in the surrounding plains of Gressier, Léogâne, Petit Goâve and Grand Goâve and on the mountain regions of Bainet, Jacmel Valley, Côte-de Fer, Jacmel, Cayes-Jacmel and Marigot. Because these irrigated plains are characterized by a level of production and revenue superior to pluvial agricultural mountain regions, many farming households owned concrete buildings. In the dry regions, characterized by a high level of poverty, 1Source: CNSA 2cf. THOMSON Anne & Mety MANFRED, "Implications of Economic Policy for Food Security", FAO, 1997. It is a global indication of alimentary security of households, varying between 1 and 100, drawn by FAO including the elements Availability, Stability and Access. An indicative superior to 85 shows a level of alimentary security elevated , while inferior to 65 te situation is critical. 3 Basic investigation on: budget and consumption of households (I and II), the living conditions of Haitian households produced respectively in 1986-87, 1999-00 and in 2001. 8 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan the houses are generally built with a mixture of mud and wood. In numerous cases, even when the wood structures have resisted, the mud bricks were damaged and the buildings will need serious reparations. 2.2 The replacement of lost goods and the reparation of houses will need to be financed by agricultural revenues or the sale of animals. However, the land evaluation done by the responsible Agricultural Departmental Directions handled by the Direction of agricultural infrastructure of the MARNDR have shown that the debris and successive mud slides have obstructed primary, secondary, and third irrigation structures. A dozen irrigation systems serving 3.500 hectares in the departments of West, Southeast and of Nippes have suffered damages in the collection labor and the irrigation canal networks. Damages have also been recorded in the administrative building where the sugar factory of Darbone is located and in the administrative and technical building of the Department of Agriculture. The table below combines the damages and the lost of which the total damages and lost has been evaluated at USD31, 275,750. Of this amount, 26,275,750 USD corresponds to the total value of the physical goods destroyed that will need to be rebuilt 5,000,000 USD represents the lost recovered from the Haitian economy. Nevertheless, the most important impact of the earthquake on the agricultural sector is caused by the indirect effects, notably those created by the massive migration of the urban population towards rural regions. Table 4: Estimate of the losses in the agricultural sector1 Description Public (USD) Private (USD) Total (USD) Irrigation Infrastructures 1,640,000 410,000 2,050,000 Roads 200,000 200,000 Food Processing Infrastructure 375,000 375,000 Administrative Building of the Ministry 23,650,000 23,650,000 Loss and Deficit in Production 2,000,000 3,000,000 5,000,000 Total 27,865,000 3,410,000 31,275,000 1 / Estimation done by MARNDR B. Indirect Impacts 2.3 The earthquake of January 12, 2010 provoked an exodus of the urban population of Port-au-Prince, estimated at approximately 600,000 people, with many migrating families moving to rural zones to their birth villages (see table 3). As a result many families affected by poverty and the food insecurity have to assume an additional charge by receiving their migrating destitute family members. According to estimates gathered up to February 15, 2010, one month after the disaster, in the departments of the West, the South, and the North the average number of people per households in rural regions increased from 5 to 6 people before the earthquake to 10 people. Knowing that it is rather difficult to bring a direct food aid to a population dispersed in rural regions, the risk created by this situation is the high probability of seeing a rapid exhaustion of alimentary stocks of rural households, while the local production will probably not cover the total local alimentary needs and will not be able to meet these needs between the two harvest campaigns of winter 2009/10 and spring 2010. 9 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan Table 5: Displaced population/Total population Department Population Rural Population Displaced % Artibonite 1,571,020 947,646 162,509 10% Centre 678,626 551,680 90,997 13% Grand'Anse 425,878 277,075 120,000 28% Nippes 311,497 259,385 33,950 11% North 970,495 510,422 13,531 1% NorthEast 358,277 196,414 8,500 2% NorthWest 662,777 486,535 48,062 7% West 3,664,620 824,836 32,253 1% South 704,760 554,270 88,599 13% South East 575,293 490,793 0% TOTAL 9,923,243 5,099,056 598,401 6% Sources: MEF-IHSI- Direction of demographic and social statistics (DSDS), March 2009 Department of civil protection, damages. Date 9 February 2010 2.4 Concerning most particularly rural families, the earthquake has consequently provoked: - A sudden and significant increase in the number of people living in the same household in rural areas. - A deficit of basic alimentary goods in rural areas, and, therefore, a greater risk of a significant increase of the food insecurity. - A price increase for basic alimentary goods in rural areas. - The use for human consumption of the stock of seeds. - A risk of decapitalization for small-scale livestock farmers, leading to the reduction of producing livestock. - The impoverishment small-scale farmers, due to the fact that they cannot benefit from price increase, because they use their produce for home consumption; therefore, - The incapacity to purchase inputs (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) and tools necessary in the intensification of the agricultural production. 2.5 Therefore, although it cannot be considered as one of the sectors most directly affected by the January 12 disaster, the agricultural sector will play a key role as much in maintaining the food security as in the economic recovery and the social stability of the country. This, therefore, implies the imperative necessity to bring the agricultural sector all the necessary support, not only on a short term basis by urgent interventions that will allow it to respond to the immediate alimentary needs, but also on a longer term basis in order to relaunch, modernize, and revive and agricultural sector, essential to the economy and the social equilibrium of the country. 10 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan Fig.1: Zones of Priority Interventions 11 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan 3. STRATEGIC ADJUSTMENT OF THE ANSWER TO RAISE A. Government Response 3.1 The response to raise, in order to face rural aspects of the disaster, was defined by MARNDR in an orientation and plea document composed immediately after the January 12, 2010 earthquake1. The Special Action Plan includes, in particular, the following objectives: - Increase the supply of alimentary goods in the country by the creation of a favorable environment which would include the following elements: the availability of agriculture financing (to invest), the availability of agricultural inputs and counseling (to obtain favorable productivity), access to the public agricultural services and opportunities, and relatively prices - Define programs and integrating strategies for the displaced population - Increase the accessibility of alimentary goods by the increase of monetary flow (creating job in the rural area) - Incorporate the national production with the food aid by establishing contracts in which the local alimentary goods will be supplied to humanitarian organization in school lunch programs - Prepare for the coming hurricane season 3.2 This plan of action anticipates a quick response for an increase in the population’s alimentary security as much through the increase of national productions as through the increase of the financial resources of vulnerable households. It proposes an ensemble of priority actions assuring the agricultural production stability and facilitates physical and economic access to household alimentary provisions. 3.3 The new reality created by the disaster of January 12, 2010, certainly imposes short term actions (through September 2011) but also medium-long programs (from October 2011 through September 2016) in which the actions are mostly enrolled with the perspective to significantly increase the national agricultural production in compliance with the current agricultural development policies. B. Adjustment with the National Startegy of Agricultural Development 3.4 The government regards the rural sector as the primary pillar of growth and poverty reduction in the country, as can been found in official documents, notably the DSNCRP and the agricultural development policies 2010-2025 which refer to DSNCRP. This agricultural policy requires to be translated by a law of agricultural orientation and contains a long term vision of an agriculture that is: 1 MARNDR: Special support program of alimentary production in Haiti in response to 4 hurricanes in 2008, the earthquake of January 12th, 2010 and the integration of displaced populations. Port-au-Prince, January 2010. 12 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan ∙ modern, founded on the effectiveness and efficiency of family farms and the promotion of the agricultural enterprises, thanks to the commitment of the private sector; ∙ productive and competitive on the local and international markets, assuring the food security of the population; ∙ producing decent incomes to farmers; ∙ environmental friendly; ∙ creating surpluses for the functioning of the agro-alimentary companies. 3.5 The strategic objectives assigned to the sector are the following: (i) increase the local production of basic alimentary goods to assure the food security of the population(in compliance with the National Plan of Nutrition and Food Security); (ii) increase the farmer’s income; (iii) increase foreign currency in the country ; (iv) improve the health and nutritional condition of the Haitian population, particularly the vulnerable groups ; (v) reduce the vulnerability of the population when facing natural disasters. 3.6 The policies of agricultural development privilege: - A regional approach adapted to the potential and the characteristics of different agro-ecological zones of the country looking for consistency and balance among actions - An approach to watersheds, going from the mountain’s summit to the sea and advocating the interaction between the downstream and the upstream - A networking approach establishing the cooperation of the actors in the professional sector, gathered around the same table government, private sector and OPA (producer organization), for whatever may be the product under consideration (local market or exportation) 3.7 The agricultural politic leans on the following principal points: - The investments on the public infrastructure, - The Support intended to increase selected field competition and correct the imperfections of the market, including grants, while putting in place a mechanism for the progressive decrease of these grants - The offer of basic public agricultural services the actors involved 3.8 This agricultural investment plan explains the political orientation of the agricultural development and is in accordance with the Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Development of Haiti. The main issues include: (i) processing of a subsistence agriculture into an entrepreneurship agriculture while taking into account the natural potential of a sustainable development, making the farmer a real entrepreneur; (ii) improvement in the farmers’ source of income by the well organized development of sub-sectors; (iii) creation of added value in agriculture through the 13 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan development of agro-industry in a sustainable development; (iv) increase in financial contributions; (v) reversal of land degradation and promoting sustainable management of natural resources. 3.9 The Agricultural Investment plan is expressed around three principal axes that contain the collection of activities likely to recover the agricultural sector after the January 12, 2010 earthquake: (i) Rural infrastructure development - Development of watersheds and forests - Irrigation and other rural infrastructures (ii) Production and development of agriculture sub-sectors - Livestock farming, fishing, and aquaculture - Plant production - Access to inputs - Urban and suburban agriculture - Development of fields and reinforcement of business systems - Rural credit - Local productions and humanitarian operations(local purchases) (iii) Agricultural services and institutional support - Research, Extension, Training - Zoological and phytosanitary protection - Land issues - Institutional strengthening (after the execution of an institutional audit) 14 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan 4. INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE HAITIAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR 1 A. DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL INFRASTRUCTURES A.1. Development of Watersheds and Forests2 Situation of the sub-sector 4.2 Due to its landscape, its climate, and its insularity, Haiti benefits from a varied ecology and diversified natural resources. However, the country has been entailed, for many decades, in a process of decapitalization of rural households and the desertification of the area. In fact, in view of the increase of the population, of the growing demand of alimentary goods, and of the limited agricultural surface, the areas in cultivation have increased to about 20 to 30% surpassing those suitable for agriculture. The situation is similar in the domain of forest resources which provides the largest section in energy and construction material. The deforestations are three to four times superior to the yield of forest formations; forest areas covering no more than 1 to 2 percent of the country’s surface, 25 of the 30 watersheds are bare. The biological diversity of the different ecosystems of the country is quickly dying. The mining of rocks for construction (2.5 million of m3per year) destabilizes the land and damages the country. 4.3 About 85% of the country’s watershed is greatly damaged or is in the process of rapid destruction, causing frequent flooding in the country, exhaustion or the disappearance of the basic factors of agricultural production with harmful effects on the infrastructure of downhill production. The integrated development of the watershed is a major priority for the government. Experience has shown that this sector, in order to be effective, must be directed towards actions that aim the local development in its entirety (social and economic). Constraint 4.4 The principal factors at the source of the environmental destruction are the following: 1For each element of investment plan, the details of strategy, the objectives, the activities and costs, are found in attachments. 2 The details of this element are in Attachment 1. 15 HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan ∙ The large demographic pressure leading to a reduction or a rapid decline in the size of exploitation, the extinction of fallow land in the exploitation system, the excessive exploitation without organic and mineral restitution; ∙ Eroding farming practices on steep slopes at the expense of cultures protecting the soil ; ∙ The cultivation of land on excessively high slopes without any measures against erosions ∙ The weak development of the agro forestry, even though it could be adapted to all areas and slopes; ∙ The weaknesses of the physical section (high slopes, soils developed on limestone alternating with basaltic intrusions); ∙ The land insecurity which slows down long term productive investments; ∙ The free livestock farming practices that exist in certain areas; ∙ The harsh climatic occurrences (tropical storms, hurricanes) ∙ The pressure on energy needs and construction based on wood resources Potentiality 4.5 The potentialities are attached to numerous favorable factors: a large agro-ecologic variability, an abundant pluviometry, and water resources that can be used for hillside irrigation. Analysis and strategic vision of the sub-sector development 4.6 For the past twenty years an approach to the watershed has evolved towards the active development and has been integrated in a local development system. The relevant aspects in this new approach can be summarized such as: (i) the management of natural resources cannot be done without the participation of the resources’ users ; (ii) the interaction between the downstream and upstream watersheds, taking into account the views of the mountain populations; (iii) the participants must have the capacity to decide and take responsibility, and (iv) the participation of different actors (population, associations, public services, NGO, private companies) requires time for an implementation of a comprehension and appropriation process. 4.7 For some years, the decentralization and the reinforcement of territorial communities have been a priority in the Haitian government’s agenda. To be accomplished, many local development projects and plans have been drawn; included among others are: the Local Plan of Development of FAES, de USAID/LOKAL, World Bank/PRODEP, etc. Actually, pilot projects, as well as many others intervene in the reinforcement of the capacities and represent models (learn lessons) for other projects in the process of being drafted, such is the case of the following projects GCP/HAI/019/CAN de la FAO at Marmelade – Plaisance, PADELAN of ACDI. However, the experience in Haiti also shows that the decentralization and of local organization must be accompanied by an adequate financial plan related to competitive fields for the investment to be durable. 4.8 This decentralization process has transferred the responsibilities toward local authorities. Thus, local governance got progressively a very important aspect in the development of watersheds. In the case of Haiti, different projects have developed an approach “Watershed Development – Local D