IFAD to support poor farmers in the rural areas

Rome, 29 January 2010 - What Haiti has suffered has devastated all of us,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he emphasized the role the private sector can play in driving economic growth and reducing poverty in rural areas of developing countries. “A coordinated effort to rapidly rebuild Haiti must be led by the country’s government and its people, with the full support of the international community and the private sector.”

To assess the post-earthquake situation in Haiti’s rural areas, a team - led by Josefina Stubbs, Director of IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division – is currently on the ground in Santo Domingo in neighbouring Dominican Republic for meetings with Haiti’s Minister of Agriculture, staff from IFAD-funded projects and other partners.  They will identify short- and medium-term issues affecting rural areas and formulate a plan of specific actions, in the first instance to help farmers during the next planting season in order to increase agricultural production and promote income and employment-generating activities for small farmers.

First-hand information from IFAD staff in Haiti indicate that while there has been damage to irrigation systems and roads, including main routes to agricultural markets, IFAD-supported projects in the country are fully operational. These projects, located in the Bas Plateau Central and in the North-East, North-West and Centre  Departments, support improvements  to community-based small-scale irrigation, build the capacities of communities, promote productive initiatives and provide poor rural people with access to financial services.

One of the consequences of the earthquake is reverse migration from hard hit cities and towns, which is putting further pressure on rural households and reducing the availability of what little food there is, thus affecting the socio-economic stability in areas already grappling with meager resources. Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture estimates the number of people leaving cities for rural areas could reach 1.5 million. 

Minister of Agriculture Joanas Gue, who spearheaded the government plan on agriculture said, “The key element of the plan for agriculture is to create economic opportunities for these populations in the rural areas.”

In looking ahead, IFAD and its partners will ensure that previous investments and efforts are not lost even as attention focuses on rebuilding and building better. 

For example, remittances are a lifeline for Haiti and after the earthquake, more than ever, these funds are critical to meet short-term, basic needs.  Fonkoze, a microfinance institution which provides financial services, including remittance transfers to the rural areas, was able to re-open only days after the earthquake thanks to the satellite phones and the diesel generators purchased earlier with grant funds from IFAD. Today, Fonkoze is providing Haitians with remittances services free of cost, continuing this vital service.

Despite the fact that six out of ten Haitians live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, in the past very little attention was directed to this crucial sector.

“There is a lesson in this for all of us. We must learn from past mistakes and reverse this trend,” Nwanze concluded.