(2010) Haiti National Agricultural Investment Plan
Summary — A comprehensive investment plan for Haiti's agricultural sector recovery following the January 12, 2010 earthquake, totaling USD 772 million. The plan focuses on rural infrastructure development, production enhancement, and institutional support to modernize and boost agricultural productivity.
Key Findings
- Haiti's agricultural sector requires USD 772 million investment for post-earthquake recovery and modernization.
- 88% of rural population lives below poverty level, making agriculture crucial for poverty reduction.
- Three main intervention areas identified: rural infrastructure development, production enhancement, and institutional support.
- Agriculture represents the principal economic activity in rural areas where basic services are practically nonexistent.
- The sector will play a major role in food security, economic recovery and social stability of Haiti.
Full Description
This National Agricultural Investment Plan represents Haiti's strategic response to rebuild and modernize its agricultural sector following the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake. Developed through collaboration between MARNDR, IICA, FAO, and other partners, the plan recognizes agriculture's crucial role in food security, economic recovery, and social stability. The comprehensive strategy addresses both immediate alimentary needs and long-term sector revitalization with a total investment of approximately USD 772 million.
The plan is structured around three main intervention areas: rural infrastructure development (including watershed/forestry development and irrigation systems), production and sub-sector development (covering livestock, aquaculture, fishing, and vegetable production through improved access to inputs, rural credit, and post-harvest management), and agricultural services with institutional support (including extension services, land tenure security, and institutional strengthening). The document emphasizes Haiti's pre-earthquake challenges, including extreme rural poverty affecting 88% of the rural population, limited agricultural productivity, and inadequate basic services.
Implementation involves extensive consultation with civil society, private sector, farmer organizations, NGOs, and international partners. The plan targets significant and lasting growth in national agricultural production while addressing critical infrastructure gaps, improving market access, and strengthening institutional capacity. Environmental sustainability and gender approaches are integrated throughout the strategy.
The anticipated impacts include enhanced food security, increased agricultural productivity, improved rural livelihoods, and stronger institutional frameworks. The plan serves as a foundation for mobilizing international support and coordinating development efforts across Haiti's agricultural sector, positioning agriculture as a pillar for national development and poverty reduction in the post-earthquake reconstruction context.
Full Document Text
Extracted text from the original document for search indexing.
République d’Haïti
Repiblik d’Ayiti
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
HAITI
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INVE STMENT 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 EARTH QUKE ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ................ 9
A. Direct Impacts ................................................................................................................... 9
B. Indirect Impacts .............................................................................................................. 10
3. RESPONSE TO STRATEGIC PLAN OF SU PPORT ..................................................... 12
A. Government Response .................................................................................................... 12
B. Support by Using the National Plan of Agricultural Development ........................... 12
4. INVESTMENT REQUIREME NTS 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 D EVELOPMENT 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
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5. IMPLEMANTATION AND M ONITORING 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 ………………………………………………………………….6 1
6. COST AND FINANCING PLAN ……...……...……………………………… ..…62
A. Methodology…………………………………… ………………………………...62
A. Cost Review of Investment Plan …………...……………………………………6 3
B. Sample Financing Plan……...……………………………………………………6 4
7. ANTICIPATED IMPACTS OF INVESTMENTS….. ……………………..……6 5
A.Principal Beneficiaries…………………………………………………………………65
B. Technical Impacts.…………………………………………………………… .………..66
C. Environmental Impact…………… ……………………………………………………6 7
D. Financial and Economic Impact……………………………………………………..…6 8
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
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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)
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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(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,
1
part 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
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1. PRE-EARTHQUAKE SITUATION
1
A. Socio-Economic Context
1.1 The Republic of Haiti has a surface area of 27,750 km
2
and 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
2
per 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 parcels
3
.
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).
3
Source : MARNDR/FAO, general recessment of agriculture 2010
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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.
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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Volume
Produced
(MT)
Volume
Consumed
(MT)
Volume
Imported
(MT)
Volume
Exported
(MT)
Value of
Production
1
(USD)
% of total
Production
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,
1
The 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)
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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)
2
for 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
surveys
3
reveals 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 EARTH QUAKE ON THE AGRICUL URAL
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,
1
Source: CNSA
2
cf. 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.
HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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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 sector
1
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.
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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.
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Fig.1: Zones of Priority Interventions
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3. STRATEGIC ADJUSTMENT OF THE AN SWER 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
earthquake
1
. 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.
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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
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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)
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4. INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE
HAITIAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
1
A. DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL INFRASTRUCTURES
A.1. Development of Watersheds and Forests
2
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 m
3
per 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:
1
For 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.
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APPENDIX 3.- TABLE OF FININCING PLAN
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APPENDIX 4.- TABLE OF RECCURENT COSTS
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HAITI: National Agricultural Investment Plan
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