Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

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Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
Food Crops
The fall in prices for cash crops in the 1980s was accompanied
by a rise in the output of food crops, such as corn, sorghum,
rice, bananas, beans, and potatoes. Real per capita food
production, however, declined, and Haiti continued to import
millions of tons of grains. The trend toward increased production
of food crops also has had negative ecological consequences
because the planting of more tuber staples has
accelerated soil erosion. But underfed farmers realistically
could not be expected to grow tree crops in place of these
badly needed staples.
Corn, the leading food crop, is sown on more hectares
about 220,000—than any other crop. It is grown separately in
the south and interspersed with legumes in other areas. Sorghum
often replaces corn during the second growing season as
the leading crop, but total hectares planted average only
156,000. Rice became an increasingly common cereal beginning
in the 1960s, and its production increased considerably in
the 1980s as a result of improved irrigation schemes in the Artibonite
Valley. Rice production, however, has fluctuated considerably
and remains dependent on government subsidies. An
estimated 60,000 hectares yielded an average of 123,000 tons,
from 1980 to 1987 (latest data available). But the sharp reduction
of protective tariffs in the mid-1990s led to increased
imports of rice, mostly from the United States, and a corresponding
decrease in production. The reopening of ports also
led to large-scale smuggling of cheap rice and reductions in the
planted area to less than 36,000 hectares.
Other food crops cultivated in Haiti include a variety of red
and black beans, which provide the main source of protein in
the diet of millions. As many as 129,000 hectares provided
67,000 tons of beans in 1987 (latest data available). Potatoes,
one of the country's largest food crops, grow on an estimated
100,000 hectares and yielded 260,000 tons of produce a year in
the 1980s. Banana palms are also common and provide, on the
average, more than 500,000 tons of produce annually, almost
entirely for domestic consumption. Although the flimsy trees
are vulnerable to hurricanes and droughts, rapid replanting
has helped sustain the crop. The significant lowering of import
tariffs, decreed by IMF reforms in 1994, has increased smuggling
of cheaper food products from the Dominican Republic,
particularly bananas.
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