Since childhood, I have always heard that Haiti is an agriculture-based country, which means that agriculture plays an important role in the country's economy. I want to let you know how beneficial agriculture has been to the person I am today. It may be the same for many of you reading this article.

I was born in the town of Fonvérèt, known as Gwo cheval, this area is the place that provides various types of goods necessary for human consumption. Some of the goods include cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, corn, wheat, potatoes, and various types of beans (black beans, lima beans, red beans and green peas). My parents have been gardening since my birth. Through gardening, they were able to meet our household needs such as paying our school fees, buying livestock and many other things. I started primary school up to grade 4 in my hometown. When I got to grade 5, I had to move to Port-au-Prince with my elder sister, who then was in grade 7, because there was no high school in the area. From that period until high school graduation and admission to university, the fields paid it all. I must stress that the area in which I was born (Gwo Cheval) had no rivers, no irrigated lands, all these fields depended on the rain to get irrigated. Many times, it would rain when the rain is really needed. There are also times when the fields do not yield anything because the rain does not fall at all or it falls too much. All of this is to tell you the many sacrifices my parents have made thanks to gardening to get us to know how to read and write our names. I can't forget that there are many parents who start sending their children to school and their crop is meager. This situation makes it hard for them to pay their debts, thus making the hard decision to have the children sit home unschooled for many years. 

I remember every time there is a short vacation, I would go to the countryside to help my parents work in their fields, because I know that without a garden, they will not have money to help me achieve anything. Therefore, I always used the vacation time to go and help my father who is a big farmer who believes in farming to take care of his family. If I am the person I am today, it is thanks to the fields. This really shows how agriculture can contribute to the country’s economy. But, which players must regulate this wealth?

Today, if you do research on many political leaders and citizens who hold many high positions in the private or public sector, you will find that many of them come from an area in the countryside where every time the harvest is ready, they sell it and save the money to send in order to handle everything related to school.

The situation I'm depicting now is the situation of many other citizens who have made it thanks to their parents who farm the land in the countryside and sell what they get from the harvest, save the money, and send it to pay for school fees, rent, buy food, buy books, etc...

Some of the problems devastating the agricultural sector include:

Today, the agricultural sector is facing various types of problems.

Agricultural products and inputs are not available.

Back when I was a child, I used to hear that the government subsidizes the fertilizer to allow farmers to buy it at an affordable price. In this way, it was not that difficult for them to find the fertilizer. Over these past 10 years, the fertilizer has been controlled by big shots from the private sector. Because of the corruption within the government, the fertilizer donated to the government goes to the private sector to handle. Farmers buy it expensively from the private sector because the private sector would sell it at a profitable price.

A marketplace to sell products

Another problem is that when the farmer has finished harvesting, they cannot find a marketplace to sell the crop. Sometimes, they would find a vendor who buys it from them at a low price because the roads are not good, the vendor has to buy it at a fairly low price so they can pay for transportation and cover all other expenses. It often happens that the farmer sells the crops and cannot pay their debts.

Insecurity

 These days, insecurity is everywhere in the country. The vendor usually buys the crops and will sell it to take the profit and bring the capital to the owner of the field. In various areas of the countrysides, the crops are wasted on the road or in the field because armed men block various entrances to the capital city, which is the biggest marketplace they have to sell their products. This situation has been around for several months now.

Environmental problem

Some areas have no irrigated lands, so farmers rely on the rain for gardening. But, because of deforestation, there are many areas where people are waiting for the rain to start planting. They often have long periods of drought, which often causes them to lose the harvest season.

Migration problem

Today, much of the land that used to yield good crops is used to build houses. The reason is because they do not have the means and support from the authorities to farm the land. So, many farmers are forced to sell their lands and settle in the towns.

Local and national markets not controlled

Since the market is not controlled, many other countries invade it with their products, which are not always of good quality, but they offer a lower price than the national price. Our products that are free of chemicals cannot be sold, which often discourages the farmers. 

The consequences

Today, because many farmers do not have the means to farm the land, they do not have money to pay for their children's schooling. This problem has increased illiteracy rates, so many children engage in dishonest acts that have many negative impacts on society.

Many farmers have sold their land in the countryside and settled in Port-au-Prince or other countries.

More children have no access to school.

More children engage in disorderly acts.

Insecurity continues to spread all over.

The economy continues to be hit hard.

Some of my suggestions include:

To allow the country’s economy to pick up, authorities should:

Help farmers find agricultural tools and goods to farm the lands.

Make it easy for them to find a marketplace to sell products.

Guarantee the safety of everyone, especially vendors and drivers of vehicles travelling to sell their crops.

Clean the areas where there are canals that lead water to the fields so that the water reaches the fields.

Establish a reforestation program for deforested areas, so rain will fall in time to help rainfed areas irrigate their fields.

Make good roads available to facilitate the movement of goods from one area to another.

I am sharing this reflection with you to show you if the authorities are willing to support farmers and help them find the right ways to irrigate their lands, get seeds and fertilizers at a fairly low price, find good roads, security and a good marketplace to sell the products, they will have money entering the economy and they will be able to pay for their children's schooling. In this way, we will be able to reduce the number of unschooled children so that they are not the ones committing delinquent acts in the future. That’s how we can really progress and develop.