© Refugees International

Within the space of a generation, Haiti has regressed from self-sufficiency in domestic food production to substantial dependency on imports. Over 80% of staple rice grain is now imported. The imposition of liberal market economics by the international financial institutions was a major factor in this transformation. The tariff on rice was reduced from 35% to 3% in the 1990s, opening the floodgates to cheap imports from subsidised US farmers. By contrast, state support for agriculture in Haiti was prohibited as a condition for aid and loans. Lacking intervention, the cycle of poverty and land degradation was unchecked to the point that 50% of land is unsuitable for cultivation.

The consequence is that over half of the population is undernourished and 24% of children are classed as suffering chronic malnutrition. The World Food Programme (WFP) has said that Haiti is amongst the three countries in the world with the lowest daily food consumption, over 450 calories below the recommended minimum per capita.

The impact of sharply rising food prices during the first half of 2008 on a population unable to afford them was therefore untenable, even for the notable capacity of Haitian communities to cope with extreme want. A week of food riots in April 2008 resulted in fatalities, attracting world attention and prompting parliament to force the resignation of the prime minister. President Rene Preval had no choice but to abandon dogmatic economics and subsidise the price of rice.

Meanwhile the prices of staple foods remain far above their levels at the end of 2007 and 40% of the population is deemed to be food insecure. WFP is providing aid for 250,000 of those most in need, together with school feeding programmes for 500,000 children.

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