So hear me out. The World Bank Group (WB) has stated their overarching mission is to free the world of poverty by increasing the income of the poorest 40 percent of the world's population. This population includes the impoverished citizens of Haiti — an estimated 6 million impoverished Haitians struggle on less than US$2.41 per day, while another 2.5 million Haitians suffer in extreme poverty with less than US$1.12 daily. The production of food and agriculture are important sources of sustenance and employment for a large population of the world, and the majority of the world’s poor. If the production of food in the world is to eventually sustain a population of 10 billion people (as projected for the year 2050), current systems of food production and agriculture must be expanded sustainably.
Currently the Haitian economy is straddled by their service industry, accounting for an estimated 64 percent of their total employment. In comparison, their agricultural industry distantly competes, sourcing 29 percent of Haitian employment. However, technological innovation and targeted action could significantly improve the sector’s trajectory in the future. Despite the overall importance of agriculture and food production, productivity in Haiti remains low. The majority of Haitian agricultural products are sourced from smallholder farms, therefore agriculture does not comprise the principle source of income for most of the households there. The value of remittances comprises about one fifth of their GDP — double the amount derived from Haiti’s exports.
Haiti’s business sector is best defined as informal – 80 percent of new jobs in Haiti are sourced by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises which most often are poorly organized, and lack proper funding and access to financial institutions, yielding high unemployment. Additionally, the agricultural sector requires significant improvement with regards to market access and environmental degradation, which currently prevent the improvement of production and sales of cash and food crops
In order to expand agricultural production, farmer cooperatives must be fortified with the proper tools and education so they may refine techniques of production, improve the efficiency of resources, and gain improved access to seeds and irrigation. Providing access to market information is an important step in linking Haitian farmer associations to financial institutions. Currently, about one-fifth of land in Haiti is considered agriculturally suitable due to mass deforestation and environmental degradation caused by unsustainable agricultural outcomes.
Additionally, 85 percent of Haiti’s watersheds are degraded by natural disasters which increases the possibility of flooding which ruins crops and leads to fewer crops and less groundwater during droughts. These are challenges that could be easily mitigated by focusing on the modernization of agro-logistical infrastructure to reduce post-harvest food loss, improve overall security through the fortification of deteriorated farm land, and an investigation of peri-urban agricultural practices and financial resilience. Just a thought.
Sources:
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Copy_of_tagged_Haiti-Nutrition-Profile.pdf
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