(2024-07) Key Message Update: The impact of current harvests on food consumption and prices is limited, given current socio-political and economic constraints
Summary — Spring harvests arrived but changed little. Production is below average because seeds were scarce and costly, planted area shrank, labour costs were high and insecurity persisted, and gang control of movement forced farmers to sell locally despite the seasonal price fall. Food prices remain over 80 percent above the three-year average, with headline inflation rising from 23 percent in February to 28.3 percent in May and food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation at 40.5 percent year-on-year (BRH). The first Kenyan contingent of the Multinational Security Support Mission is deployed but not yet fully operational, and violence against individuals rose more than 22 percent (ACLED).
Key Findings
- Spring harvests are below average and their effect on consumption and prices is limited by insecurity, costly seed, reduced planted area and high labour costs.
- Gang control of movement forces farmers to sell locally rather than to capital-city traders, despite the seasonal price fall.
- Food prices stay more than 80 percent above the three-year average.
- Headline inflation rose from 23 percent in February to 28.3 percent in May; food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation reached 40.5 percent year-on-year (BRH).
- The first Kenyan MSS contingent is deployed but not fully operational; violence against individuals rose more than 22 percent (ACLED), with 80 percent of Port-au-Prince under gang control.
Full Description
This Key Message Update covers July 2024. Widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) persists because armed gang violence continues to disrupt poor households' livelihoods and market supplies. Farmers, and agricultural labourers in particular, face below-average incomes that limit their food consumption. Cité Soleil and very poor households in other metropolitan communes such as Croix-des-Bouquets, where violence and acute malnutrition persist, remain in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). Spring harvests are under way but production is estimated below average because of scarce and therefore expensive seed, reduced planted area, insecurity and high labour costs. The harvest has temporarily improved local availability and household access, though to a limited extent against the average, and gang violence restricting the movement of goods and people, mainly market supplies, prevents farmers from selling to the best traders in the capital, forcing local sales despite the seasonal price decrease. Food prices remain atypically high at more than 80 percent above the three-year average despite that seasonal fall in local produce, reflecting overall annual inflation that has risen since February from 23 to 28.3 percent in May, driven by food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation of 40.5 percent year-on-year according to the Banque de la République d'Haïti. After several weeks of deployment, the first Kenyan police contingent of the Multinational Security Support Mission is not yet fully operational and is concentrating on essential defensive tasks such as securing vital infrastructure including airports and oil terminals; the security situation remains unchanged, with a recent upsurge in kidnappings. Contrary to the stability observed in June, ACLED data show violent events targeting individuals up by more than 22 percent. Insecurity remains concentrated in Ouest, where 80 percent of Port-au-Prince's territory is under armed gang control, and in Artibonite, with frequent clashes between gangs and law enforcement continuing to disrupt markets and income-generating activities.
Full Document Text
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Haiti - Key Message Update
July 2024
The impact of current harvests on food consumption and prices is limited, given current
socio-political and economic constraints
Key Messages
A widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) persists due to insecurity
caused by armed gang violence, which continues to disrupt
the livelihoods of poor households and market supplies.
Farmers, particularly agricultural workers, face below-average
incomes, limiting their food consumption. Cité Soleil and very
poor households in other communes in the metropolitan area,
such as Croix-des-Bouquets, where violence and acute
malnutrition persist, are still in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).
Spring harvests are underway, but due to the constraints
faced by farmers, notably the scarcity and, therefore, high cost
of seeds, the reduction in the size of the planted area,
insecurity, and the high cost of labor, production is estimated
to be below average. Harvest has temporarily improved local
availability and household food access, although to a limited
extent compared to the average. However, gang violence is
restricting the movement of goods and people, mainly market
supplies, impacting the sale of these crops to the best traders
in the capital. As a result, farmers are forced to sell locally
despite the seasonal price decrease.
Food prices remain atypically high, at over 80 percent
compared to the three-year average, despite the seasonal
price decrease for local agricultural products from the spring
harvest. This atypical price rise reflects overall annual inflation,
which has been upward since February, rising from 23 to 28.3
percent in May. This rise was driven by food and non-alcoholic
beverage inflation, which reached 40.5 percent year-on-year
(BRH).
After several weeks of deployment of the first Kenyan police
contingent of the Multinational Security Support Mission
(MSM), the force is not yet fully operational. In the short term,
it concentrates on essential defense tasks such as securing
vital infrastructure, including airports and oil terminals.
Despite these tasks, the security situation remains unchanged.
A recent upsurge in kidnappings has been observed,
contributing to a fragile situation, particularly in the capital.
Indeed, contrary to the stability observed in June, the number of violent events targeting individuals has
increased by more than 22 percent, according to ACLED data. Insecurity is still mainly concentrated in the West
department (Port-au-Prince, with 80 percent of its territory under the control of armed gangs) and Artibonite.
The security situation remains tense, particularly in the capital's neighborhoods, characterized by frequent
clashes between gangs and law enforcement agencies. These clashes continue to directly impact the normal
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Key Message Update
July 2024
functioning of markets and income-generating activities in these areas.
Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Haiti Key Message Update July 2024: The impact of current harvests on food
consumption and prices is limited, given current socio-political and economic constraints, 2024.
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About Key Message Update
This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes
in the specified geography. Learn more here.
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