Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
wage labor for those smallholders able to muster some cash or
credit. Such arrangements, however, are of no use to the landless;
only those who have land or money to finance a crop enter
into these schemes. Smallholders and the landless live
enmeshed in a web of dependent relationships: they depend
on their neighbors and kin for help and assistance, on store
owners for credit, and on larger landholders for employment.
Families with mid-sized holdings face slightly different problems.
They often have enough land and financial resources to
meet most of their families' food needs and earn cash from the
sale of crops or livestock. They usually do not need to work for
hire and sometimes can hire laborers themselves. They usually
eat better than smallholders, and their children stay in school
longer. But although mid-sized landholders earn more, they
also have greater needs for cash during the year, particularly if
they hire laborers before the harvest.
Even relatively large holders face seasonal shortages of cash.
Their production costs—especially for hired labor—are typically
higher than the costs faced by smaller landowners. Nevertheless,
their standard of living is notably higher than that of
those with less land. They generally eat better and can afford
meat or fish more frequently. Although their holdings support
them adequately, subdivision among the family's offspring typically
leaves no heir with more than a hectare or two. Faced with
this prospect, these farmers often encourage their children to
pursue nonagricultural careers and help support them financially
during their student years.
Almost all farmers depend to varying degrees on credit from
local storekeepers. The landless and land poor need credit simply
to feed their families. Mid-sized landholders use it to tide
them over the lean months before harvest. Prevailing interest
rates vary considerably, but the poorest farmers—those who
cannot offer a harvest as collateral and who usually need shortterm
credit — generally pay the highest rates.
Farmers often depend on storekeepers to market their crops
because they are usually unable to accumulate sufficient produce
to make direct marketing a viable option. Most farmers
commit their crops to their merchant-creditor long before harvest.
Although store owners cannot legally require that someone
who owes them money sell his or her crops to them, the
possibility of being denied necessary credit at a time of future
need acts as a powerful incentive for the farm family to do so.
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