Root cause problems / Agricultural Constraints 7

< Previous | Home | Next >

Constraints for Haitian agriculture
Despite small farmers representing a significant group of the poor population, neither the government nor donors have ever made a concerted effort to invest in raising the productivity of small-scale agriculture in Haiti.

As a result, Haitian agriculture suffers from some key constraints which are summarised below:
Size of land holdings ­ average land holdings are very small: in 2002, 75 per cent of
farms were smaller than two hectares.

36
There are a small number of large plantations ­
covering an estimated 10 per cent of the cultivated area.
37
Deforestation ­ in rural areas Haitians rely on wood for cooking.

It is also a key asset to
sell in times of need and can provide valuable income.

Given the severe economic
problems experienced in rural areas, deforestation has increased significantly: it is
estimated that tree cover in Haiti is less than two per cent,
38
leading to soil erosion that in
turn causes devastating floods and landslides, as well as lower agricultural yields.

Lack of irrigation ­ agriculture is mainly rain-fed and as a result production is badly
affected by droughts.

background image
11
Access to credit ­ small farmers do not have access to credit and generally have to rely
on local moneylenders for funds.

Interest rates are high, while investment and working
capital for agriculture is scarce.

Lack of local-level storage facilities ­ the lack of such facilities means that farmers are
not able to store produce and plan sales according to market price fluctuations ­ another
contributing factor to low incomes.

Transportation ­ infrastructure in Haiti is extremely poor, and gaining access to markets
in towns can be difficult and costly.

These are some of the main reasons why crop yields are extremely low per hectare,
production costs are high and Haitian agriculture has difficulty competing on export markets
and with imports on the local market.

Lionne, April 24 2008, 6:48 PM

Start a NEW topic or,
Jump to previous | Next Topic >

< Previous | Home | Next >