(2020) Haiti - Response Overview, January 2020

Haiti Response overview January 2020 In numbers 3.7 million people currently facing severe acute food insecurity, of whom 2.8 million live in rural areas 65 530 children under five suffer from acute malnutrition 60% of people living in rural areas depend solely on agriculture, fisheries and livestock for their livelihoods 96% of Haitians are exposed to climate shocks USD 76 million required by December 2020 to support 1.2 million people Key points • Throughout 2019, Haiti was marked by major natural disasters that add to the effects of those experienced during the past ten years, the cholera epidemic, and the deteriorating socio-political and economic situation. Compounded by the country’s structural weaknesses, vulnerable populations face increased levels of food insecurity and continue to have limited access to basic social services. • According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis (October 2019), if no actions are taken to restore the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, the food security situation is expected to further deteriorate particularly during next year’s lean season (March–June 2020), with 4.1 million people projected to be in IPC Phases 3-4. Planned response for 2020 Agricultural inputs (seeds and tools) | creation of seed banks | support for local seed production and seed security | nutrition education | promotion of climate-resilient good agricultural practices | capacity building of women’s associations for vegetable and fruit production | urban and peri-urban farming | cash for work and technical support for the rehabilitation of irrigation canals and for sustainable micro‑watersheds management Fodder production and conservation | small-scale livestock production | mobile veterinary clinics | fishing equipment | capacity building for fishers and agropastoralists | cash for work and technical support for the rehabilitation of water retention basins © FAO/Haiti Response to-date since January 2019 If immediate livelihood assistance is not provided to vulnerable households, they may face a much worse food security situation. • Assisted 17 500 drought-affected households in three departments (North, North-East and South-East) with vouchers to purchase drought-resistant pulse and cereal seeds at seed fairs; households also received cassava and sweet potato cuttings. • Provided 7 100 drought-affected households, 60 percent of whom were female-headed, in the same three departments with seeds and training on vegetable production, consumption and marketing. • Reached 1 300 vulnerable households, without access to agricultural land, through cash for work. • Treated 4 500 animals, belonging to about 900 agropastoralists, through mobile veterinary clinics set up in collaboration with animal health group veterinarians. Current food insecurity situation (October 2019–February 2020) Funding FAO requires No r t h At l a n t i c O cea n USD 76 million Nord-Ouest Nord by December 2020 Nord-Est to assist Artibonite 1.2 million people Centre Ouest C a ri b b ea n S ea Grande-Anse Ouest Nippes Sud T H E D O MI N I C AN REPUBLIC Sud-Est 0 15 km Integrated Food Security Phase Classification 1 – Minimal 2 – Stressed Inadequate evidence 3 – Crisis 4 – Emergency 5 – Famine Not included in the analysis Source: IPC, October 2019. Map conforms to UN Haiti map, February 2016. Challenges facing food security and agriculture Almost every year since 2014, Haiti has been affected by droughts and irregular rainfall distribution, which add to the effects of the two major earthquakes and three hurricanes experienced during the past ten years. Compounded by its structural weaknesses, the country is also facing a deteriorating socio-political and economic situation. With a significant drop in production, and increased levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, it is crucial to provide vulnerable people with immediate support to restore their agriculture-based livelihoods and strengthen their resilience against future shocks. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on the map(s) in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. Contact FAO Representation in Haiti Porte-au-Prince, Haiti FAO-HT@fao.org FAO Emergency and Resilience Division Rome, Italy PSE-Director@fao.org Some rights reserved. This work is available under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations www.fao.org/emergencies ©FAO, 2020 CA7636EN/01/02.20 Rising staple food prices, with an annual inflation of about 22.6 percent, the depreciation of the Haitian gourd and socio-political unrest have greatly reduced access to food for the poorest households. From 2018 to the first half of 2019, the country experienced El Niño-related pockets of drought, particularly in the departments of North-West, North-East, Grand’Anse and South, as well as in the northern part of the Centre and eastern parts of the South-East departments. This has affected the production of major crops such as cereals and beans, resulting in a significant decline in overall agricultural production of about 12 percent compared with last year which was already low. The outcome of the spring agricultural season, which runs from March to July depending on the geographical areas and usually represents over 50 percent of national agricultural production, was also limited due to poor harvests of the 2018/19 winter agricultural season. Repeated episodes of rainfall deficits have also strongly affected the livestock of agropastoralists, especially in the departments of North, North-West and North-East.