Agricultural Problems
“Improving the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of smallholder farming is the main pathway out of poverty.”
World Development Report 2008:
Agriculture for Development. World Bank.
While agriculture remains one of the most important sectors of the Haitian economy, much of the country’s farmland has been stripped and eroded by decades of de-forestation, over-farming, and chronic underinvestment. Nearly two-thirds of all Haitians earn their livelihood from subsistence agriculture, in which methods are primitive and crop yields are dismally small. Currently, Haiti only produces enough food to fill the needs of 55 percent of its population.
To fill the gap, Haiti imports some $400 million in food each year. But these products are too expensive for most people.
Lower Yields for Haitian Peanuts
In Haiti, peanuts are the primary cash crop for many subsistence farmers. They grow peanuts to send their children to school and put food in their bellies.
But Haitian farmers have some of the lowest peanut yields in the world. On one acre of land, an American peanut farmer in Georgia can grow nearly 3,000 pounds of peanuts. A Haitian farmer with the same amount of land grows only 700 pounds of peanuts. Lower yields mean less income, and that means children can’t go to school. Lower yields also mean less food, and that means children have empty stomachs.
Lack of Training
How can people learn how to be better farmers? Haiti has no agricultural extension service. Farmers are in dire need of education and tools to improve their yields and the health of their peanuts. By training farmers in modern methods of planting — and by introducing cultivars, seed treatments, tillage, weed control, and fertilizers — MFK and its university partners can help farmers vastly improve their output and quality, allowing them to feed and support their families.
Learn how we help solve Haiti's problems.
