GEO Haiti 2010

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GEO HAITI • 2010
5.3.2 Impact on Agricultural
Production
It is well known that traditional agriculture –carried
out almost without mechanical instruments and
based on a multi-crop subsistence farming and
animal breeding, as in the case of Haiti– cannot
be practiced on land that has lost its top soil, i.e. its
arable layer. Water erosion essentially affects this
layer of soil as it is the first to be washed away.
This phenomenon of erosion, both in terms of its
intensity and its scope, has quickly created a crisis in
the agricultural sector. In fact, the productivity of Haitian
soils has shown a steady decline in recent decades due
to increased erosion. The table below provides some
indication of the magnitude of the problem. Some
agricultural commodities have shown the following
declines in production between 1980 and 2004: over
30% in the case of bean production (17,000 Mt)
and coffee (13,900 Mt); of 21.4% for sorghum
(25,790 Mt); and 12% with respect to the production
of rice (14,710 Mt).
Table 27: Comparison between some agricultural commodities’ production (1980-2004)
Products
(en TM)
Year Shortfall in 2004
compared to 1980
1980 2004
Bean 51,000 34,000 17,000
Rice 119,710 105,000 14,710
Sorghum 120,790 95,000 25,790
Coffee 42,900 29,000 13,900
Mango 326,000 261,000 65,000
Source: www.faostat.fao.org
5.3.3 Rural Exodus
Agriculture, as mentioned before, has long
occupied a special place in the Haitian economy
– and this as far back as when the State was
created. Only two centuries ago, the vast majority
of the former slaves had made farming their main
activity. However, according to statistics, it clearly
appears that over the years there has been a
decrease in the number of persons involved in
agriculture. From 1950 to 2000, the percentage
of the population involved in this sector declined
from 85% to 62%, and in regard to the urban
population, it increased from 12.17% to 36%
during the same period 50 .
Figure 62: Population growth in rural and urban
Haiti between 1950 and 2003
Inhabitants
5 000 000
4 500 000
4 000 000
3 500 000
3 000 000
2 500 000
2 000 000
1 500 000
1 000 000
500 000
0
Source: IHSI, 2002 and 2004
1950 1971
Year
Urban population
Rural population
1982 2003
50
www.faostat.fao.org
Obviously, hasty conclusions should be avoided
in establishing a relationship between the
decline of the productive capacity of soils and
the constant decrease in the percentage of the
population involved in farming.