Attachments
Authors: Vanja Westerberg, Toni McCann, Luis Costa (Altus Impact)
Executive summary
Context
Rampant poverty and food insecurity
Haiti is the poorest country in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world. Nearly half the population does not have enough to eat (WFP, 2023) and Haitians import approximately 60 percent of the food that they consume (IFAD, 2022a).1 The increasing severity of acute food insecurity in Haiti is fueled by a rise in gang violence and worsening civil unrest, which has led to disruptions in market functioning and supply, exacerbated by the upward trend in international staple food prices (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2023).2 While Haiti was once richly forested and highly biodiverse, its colonial, plantation economy was based on an extractive model that has continued after independence in 1804 (Groundswell International, 2017). Government and international donor programs intermittently extend projects around the countryside, but there is limited coordination between these programs, and the agricultural sector is largely characterized by the absence of government extension services and needed investments (Murray and Bannister, 2004; Bellande, 2010; Groundswell International, 2017; IFAD, 2022b). These factors are further compounded by climate hazards, political instability and a depreciation of the Haitian gourde against the US dollar (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2022).
Reversing a vicious circle with agroecology To end the vicious circle of poverty, lack of appropriate investments into farming and poor agricultural productivity, the NGO, Partenariat pour le Développement Local (PDL), has embraced agroecology to strengthen peasant associations across the north of Haiti’s Central Plateau basin, with the vision that enhanced rural prosperity is a key cornerstone for revitalizing the entire country. Central to agroecology is the agency of farmers and their organizations to experiment, innovate, adapt, and spread agroecological principles and practices to local ecosystems. Techniques include, but are not limited to, the use of contour barriers, composting and use of manure, integration of crop residue instead of slash and burn, maintaining permanent soil cover, intercropping and crop rotations, agroforestry, the planting of living fences to protect against free grazing and development of community seed banks. More importantly, it is the process of farmer-focused research and development, as much as any specific set of techniques, that is prioritized when implementing and upscaling agroecology.
Individual farmers are witnessing the benefits of agroecological farming and showcasing their experience to neighbors and their peasant association networks. Whilst funding remains a major challenge to the up-scaling of agroecological farming, policies are also needed to incentivize changes. This requires adequate governance structures, clear land tenure rights, participatory decision-making processes, and evidence that agroecology pays-off (Chazdon et al., 2015; Adams et al., 2016). Needless to say, many of the valuable ecosystem services provided by agroecological farming systems – e.g., restoration of water and carbon cycles and enhanced disaster risk resilience – remain hidden, as they are not transacted in markets. Even when products are sold, such as timber, fruits, nuts and agricultural produce - the economic returns that are generated are not necessarily known to farmers and even less, to policy makers. This situation leads to under-investment in agroecology, often coupled with counteracting policies. In order to efficiently and sustainably manage agricultural landscapes therefore, it is critical to quantify and value the goods and services that are delivered by different farming systems – and ensure that resources are allocated to the systems that provide the highest returns to society.