(2024-Q1) Haiti: Executive Brief of the DIEM-Monitoring Assessment, Round 5 (January 2024)

Haiti Executive brief of the DIEM-Monitoring assessment Round 5 (January 2024) Livelihoods at risk due to the effects of El Niño compounded by an upsurge in violence Figure 1. Households adopting crisis or emergency coping strategies This executive brief presents key points and recommendations from the DIEM-Monitoring assessment conducted in Haiti in January 2024. The data collection took place from 7 December 2023 to 20 January 2024. The survey covered all 10 departments of the country and reached 1 974 households through computer‑assisted telephone interviews. The data are representative at department level. Source: FAO. 2024. Haiti: DIEM-Monitoring assessment results (January 2024). In: FAO Data in Emergencies Hub. Rome. [Cited 13 March 2024]. https://data-in-emergencies.fao.org KEY POINTS • Political unrest and gang violence continue to affect households in Haiti, particularly Artibonite, Centre and Ouest (Port‑au‑Prince) departments (Figure 3). This has had an impact on the transportation of goods and people, and has generated internal displacement. It is likely that the violence is having an indirect effect on agricultural production and sales. • Among agricultural households, livestock producers and households with farm labour as their primary source of income are the most food insecure groups of households. • Non-agricultural households have been more adversely affected by violence than agricultural households. • Severe acute food insecurity outcomes are widespread. Artibonite, Centre, Grand’Anse and Nord-Ouest are the most impacted departments. Within Artibonite, the HT04 livelihood zone (rice production basin) is the most affected. • Many households reported a decrease in their main source of income, particularly food crop producers and agricultural traders. • El Niño related drought had an impact on crop producers during the winter harvest in January and February 2024 (Figure 2). Analytical overview for agricultural households Figure 2. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Anomaly, January 2024 El Niño‑related drought present before upsurge in violence • El Niño conditions have been present since the middle of 2023, inducing below-average rainfall across most of the country. The lack of irrigation water affected 46 percent of crop producers and had an impact on the winter harvest. Social unrest adding to El Niño effects on agricultural livelihoods • Crop‑producing households that were exposed to violence faced more production difficulties (81 percent) than those who were not (75 percent), and more sales difficulties (60 percent) than those who were not (44 percent). The data show a correlation between livestock sales difficulties and violence. The departments of Artibonite, Centre, Grand’Anse and Nord-Ouest are among those most affected by food insecurity. • Source: FAO. 2024. GIEWS Earth Observation. Haiti. In: FAO, 1 January 2024. Rome. [Cited 15 March 2024]. https://www.fao. org/giews/earthobservation/country/index.jsp?code=HTI This is most pronounced for poultry and caprine producers compared to cattle owners. Small owners were more affected than producers with a larger herd size. Similarly, households only producing crops with no livestock‑related income were worse off than households with crops and livestock. This could indicate that households that produce crops and own animals have a higher coping capacity than households who only own animals or crops. In the context of severe acute food insecurity, households are engaging in coping strategies that are harmful for their livelihoods – decreasing non‑food expenses and selling productive assets (Figure 1). In addition, households that only own animals and do not produce crops, are particularly affected by severe food insecurity, according to the household hunger scale (HHS). • Figure 3. Households reporting violence in Artibonite, Centre and Ouest departments Source: FAO. 2024. Haiti: DIEM-Monitoring assessment results (December 2022, July 2023, January 2024). In: FAO Data in Emergencies Hub. Rome. [Cited 13 March 2024]. https://data-in-emergencies.fao.org 2 The data indicate that violence is correlated with increased hunger, which is in line with the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update released on 22 March 2024. Agricultural labour particularly affected • Households with farm labour as main income are facing the most severe food insecurity and engaging in more harmful coping strategies than other agricultural livelihoods. Almost half of the households, who live mainly from agricultural labour, did not engage in any agricultural activity over the last year. These households declared being affected by drought and floods more frequently than the other households – and were affected by a decrease in production driven by drought – exhibiting the highest HHS scores. Action points • In addition to emergency support needed to cover immediate needs, support must be provided for the upcoming printemps (spring) growing season to increase sources of income for many food‑insecure households – including farm workers – and increase food availability for the future. • Any disengagement in agricultural activities decreases local food availability in the future and increases the dependence on imports. Long-term support to grain production basins could potentially improve coping capacity at the local level. Support to agricultural livelihoods would likely create more and better income opportunities for these households. It is crucial to support the upcoming printemps (spring) growing season by securing the availability of seeds and fertilizer, with a focus on areas with maize production, and lower levels of insecurity for replanting in case of drought or floods early in the season. • Many households are in immediate need of cash or coupons to access food to save lives and protect livelihoods, particularly in Artibonite, Centre, Grand’Anse and Nord-Ouest departments. Supporting local trade from local production would increase the level of local food autonomy and decrease the reliance on imported food that has to circulate through Port-au-Prince. FAO. 2024. Haiti: Executive brief of the DIEM-Monitoring assessment, round 5 (January 2024). Livelihoods at risk due to the effects of El Niño compounded by an upsurge in violence. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/ cd0293en The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on the map 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 the map represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. Some rights reserved. This work is available under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence FAO Representation in Haiti FAO-HT@fao.org www.fao.org/haiti | @FAOHaiti Port-au-Prince, Haiti Office of Emergencies and Resilience Data-in-emergencies@fao.org data-in-emergencies.fao.org | @FAOEmergencies Rome, Italy Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations © FAO, 2024 CD0293EN/1/04.24 • •