Facing A Food Crisis in Haiti

By Robyn Fieser

This is how Haiti's poor describe the burning sensation associated with chronic hunger: like drinking bleach or battery acid.

The Haitian Creole phrases klorox and asid batri are being heard more often on the streets of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country lately as the skyrocketing price of food pushes more people to the brink of starvation.

Anger over the cost of food got to be too much for hundreds of people who took to the streets across Haiti in protest in early April, burning tires and forcing businesses to shut down. At least four people died. The protests are symptomatic of what William Canny, Catholic Relief Services' country representative in Haiti, calls a "reservoir of discontent."

The cost of basic food staples, including rice, beans and corn, has increased by an average of 50 percent in recent months in the Caribbean nation. The rise can be attributed to overall food prices on the world market, compounded here by the consequences of two devastating tropical storms last year and soaring transportation costs. The crisis reaches all levels of society. But the very poorest are paying the highest price. These are the people in urban and rural areas, where unemployment is rampant, who can barely find enough to eat even in the best of times.

Celianie Valmond runs a CRS-supported orphanage, Maison d'enfants Par la Far, in Port-au-Prince. For Celianie, feeding the 90 children in her care has gone from difficult to nearly impossible, as the cost of cornmeal, a staple at the orphanage, has tripled in six months. To cope, says Celianie, people are buying half a cup at a time and adding more water. Bakeries sell smaller rolls at the same price.

"Perhaps the biggest tragedy is that parents have been obliged to withhold children from going to school this semester in order to pay for food instead. In one family of six children, the parents were able to pay the tuition for the three boys but not for the three girls."

'Desperation is Spreading'

"As food prices increase, desperation is spreading among the poor and working poor all the way up to the working class," says Canny. "It's partly that frustration that led to the confrontations."

In response to the violent protests that swept across Haiti's major cities, President Rene Preval promised to reduce the price of rice about 15 percent, while the Haitian senate voted to oust Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis from office.

Imported rice has become one of the most important staples in Haiti, which only produces about 20 percent of the rice Haitians consume.

Severe soil erosion, widespread environmental degradation, extreme poverty and high unemployment conspire to stifle agricultural production and create food shortages in the Caribbean nation. Furthermore, Haiti is unable to compete with countries where farmers receive subsidies for production and have good access to credit. More than 60 percent of the Haitian work force is engaged in agriculture, but farming accounts for just 28 percent of the country's economy.

The president's move to reduce the price of imported rice has calmed the protests in the country for now, but such short-term solutions, says Canny, are not enough.

"We have a deeply entrenched poverty situation here in Haiti, and as long as the world food prices remain high and the government and international community do not invest in production, the food crisis is not going to go away. This matter is urgent, as the nutritional status of tens of thousands of Haitians—which is already precarious—is going to slip further," he says. Small farmers need support in terms of improved production methods, easier credit terms, some subsidies for seeds and fertilizers, and better roads to get products to market at a reasonable cost.

CRS has committed an initial $150,000 to support our food distribution partners in urban areas of Haiti. This support will allow the Missionaries of Charity and other partners to increase their distributions to poor families facing high prices for basic food. That money is in addition to the $7 million worth of food CRS is already distributing to organizations throughout the country that care for thousands of Haiti's poorest and most vulnerable groups, including orphans, the elderly and people living with HIV. To further fight hunger in Haiti and spur economic growth, CRS and local partners help small-scale farmers produce more food, access local markets and increase their income. Meanwhile, CRS is working with governments, including the United States, to boost relief during the crisis.

CRS will also distribute 85,000 pounds of rice generously donated by Goya Foods, the family-owned Latin American food company based in New Jersey.

With more than 50 years of experience in Haiti, CRS is now one of the largest U.S. humanitarian organizations working in the country. Serving some 200,000 of the poorest and most marginalized Haitians, our projects provide assistance with health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, HIV and AIDS, agriculture, and migration.

Robyn Fieser is CRS' regional information officer for Latin America and the Caribbean based in Guatemala.