Roots of Haiti's food crisis run deep

As the price of U.S. rice soars, experts urge a return to corn and other homegrown staples, writes Carol J. Williams in the Los Angeles Times. But farmers say there are too many obstacles.

"Today, more than 70% of Haitians live on less than $2 a day, and the U.S. rice that is the staple of their diet has doubled in price in little more than a year. Hungry hordes rioted in the capital last month, leaving at least six dead by the time President Rene Preval restored calm by announcing that foreign aid and subsidies would lower the price of a 110-pound bag of rice to $43 from $51."

As The Times has reported, Haiti isn't the only country in the Western Hemisphere experiencing serious food shortages. Marla Dickerson reported from Nicaragua earlier this month on how high food prices are hitting that impoverished Central American nation.

Photo: Destitute residents of the Cite Soleil slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, line up for hours each day to get a food handout: a cup of rice and a splash of vegetable stew for each family member. The U.S. rice that is the staple of their diet has doubled in price in little more than a year. Carol J. Williams / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Becky C]

Jasmine Tomlinson, before you criticize someone else for their "ignorance" make sure yours isn't showing! Your statement : "The US decided to intervene and destroy Haiti years ago and make the people there and the Africans slaves. And bring HIV and other STDs with them. And once they do have freedom and try to make money off there crops, the money hungry US once again destroys the one good thing they had going, which is agriculture." You may want to brush up on your Haitian history. Their own gov't destroyed their agriculture and landscape when they decided to cut down all the trees for lavish and ornate buildings and furnishings to adorn the presidential palace and personal property. And...most Haitians are pleased with the exile of former president Aristead - a dictator that only sought to line his coffers with arms and drug money. And who took foreign aid for himself instead of using it for the use of the people! Get your facts straight before you condemn America for all the "wrongs" in the world. If you don't like it here, your welcome to leave.

ure yours isn't showing.

[edwina]

So when is Haiti part of Latin America? Aren't they a "French" speaking nation? That's shocking for the usually exclusive "spanish-speaking-or you aren't really Latin- mindset that we all grow up with.

[Jasmine Tomlinson]

For the ignorant man named Brian Concannon, im assuming with that response that you do not have an education. The US decided to intervene and destroy Haiti years ago and make the people there and the Africans slaves. And bring HIV and other STDs with them. And once they do have freedom and try to make money off there crops, the money hungry US once again destroys the one good thing they had going, which is agriculture. Such a sad story, I hope the Haitians are able to get the right type of leadership so they can prosper. And as for you Brian Concannon I have one thing to say to you read a book, perferably "Lies my Teacher Told Me." So the next time you speak or write something you have some knowledge.

[Brian Concannon]

Good article, looks beyond the superficial symptoms to the roots of the problem

[The real fact about Haiti]

Haiti Problems are Haiti problems. Stop blaming The US or the World. Take responsibility in your self. There is no rule of law in Haiti. 75 percent of his people can’t read or write. The wealthy “Black” or “Mulatos” extreme dislike their Black Population. Stop blaming the white people for your problems. You always want freebies. You are a lazy Country of 7 million with 6.75 lazy people. Let’s be for real if you don’t believe me, take a trip there you will see with your own eyes.

[av2ts]

Amen! This piece tiptoes around the root of the problem - the dismantlement of the Haitian rice industry due to the dumping of once cheap US rice by the lifting of tarrifs. What is totally ignored is that the US and US controlled IMF basically left Haiti no other choice. We supported a corrupt Dictator who robbed the country blind (Duvalier). Then to get a hold of desperately needed money to keep the country afloat, they needed IMF money. At the US insistence, Haiti could not get a loan unless they sold out their rice industry - gutting all domestic supports. Meanwhile the US subsidizes rice to the tune a a Billion dollars a year. Why are these crucial facts left out of the Times otherwise timely report?

[Fran Jean]

It is sad that the majority of the media doesn't have the objectivity to pin-point the fact that the roots of the food problem in Haiti is right here in the US. I've only read one article online on the Boston Globe that slightly touch the genesis of the problem. (links: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/05/05/feeding_haiti/)

Most Americans are so naive about US foreign policy. They don't know that their government, all it cares about is destroy and profit from other countries (even those that are already struggling)...