Draft for discussion… SEMINAR HAITI – AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS AND BUILDING REGIONAL SYNERGIES CWA 2014, SURINAME Thursday 9th, 2014 1 | P a g e I. Introduction and background: The CWA is the premier annual agricultural event on the Caribbean Region's calendar. It is convened under the aegis of the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu (“The Alliance”) comprising the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). It was conceptualized: 1) to enable the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors to better acknowledge the importance of agriculture and rural life to the economic, social and environmental stability of the region and 2) for the major stakeholders in agriculture and related sectors to have an opportunity to dialogue and forge a common vision for the repositioning of agriculture and the enhancement of rural life. For this 13th edition of CWA, which was celebrated in Suriname, FAO took the lead in collaboration with IICA, to organize the “Haiti Agri-Food System and Regional Linkages” seminar. with the interest of, This seminar was intended to promote Haitian agriculture more effectively in both the institutional and commercial life of the CARICOM as well as to provide a greater understanding of the food production system in Haiti, and propose key actions for synergy. The CWA 2014 theme, “Transforming Caribbean Agriculture through Family Farming”, is significant for Haiti for the following reasons: 1) Agriculture is the mainstay of the rural economy and food and nutrition security in Haiti. The agriculture sector contributes over 25% to the country’s GDP. In 2012, it is estimated that the sector was responsible for approximately 60% of employment in the country and according to the recent agricultural census, agriculture is practised by over one million small family farmers with an average of 1 ha of land or less. These small farmers produce about 50% of the food consumed in Haiti. 2) The government of Haiti has shown an increasing interest in revitalizing the agricultural sector particularly with a main focus on family farming and agri-business, encouraging increased profitability, productivity and performing as a modern, formal and sustainable sector articulated with other economic sectors. This interest is translated in several policy documents, one of which is the Three-Year Agricultural Recovery plan (PTRA) (2013-2016). This Plan aims at a) “increasing rural income by 40%”, b) reducing the dependency on food imports by 25% and increasing self-sufficiency to 60%, c) increasing reforestation from 1 to 5 % and d) doubling agricultural exports. 3) In the recent years, driven by the interest to promote Haiti for business; the Government of Haiti has been exploring the development of a stronger relationship with the Caribbean private sector, various governments and the CARICOM Secretariat. For example, it is reported that after the earthquake, duty free exports of 42 items (including plantains, peas, cocoa, coffee, etc.) were approved to CARICOM countries for a period of three years, ending in December 2013. However, the country was unable to take advantage of this offer. 4) With a population of approximately 10,671,000 (which represents around 60% of the total population of the CARICOM), Haiti remains critical for the transformation of the Caribbean Agriculture. It is therefore, important that the various actors in CARICOM understand Haiti’s food and agricultural production system so that they can work together to transform Caribbean Agriculture. 2 | P a g e This report highlights key remarks from high level Officials from the CARICOM Secretariat; the Governments of Haiti, Suriname and the Bahamas; IICA, FAO and the Caribbean Development Bank (CBD); and reports on the various presentations made during this seminar, including one made by the Minister of Agriculture of Haiti on the progress of the Haitian Agricultural Recovery Plan. A legislation proposal to increase import tariffs on certain agricultural and food commodities in Haiti was also presented and discussed. A complete list of the presentations can be found in the Annex. The report is divided into three parts: 1) key messages and lessons learnt from the seminar, 2) key recommendations and proposed next steps, and 3) annexes 3 | P a g e OPENING CEREMONY Head Table at Opening Ceremony (from the left to the right): Ena Harvey (IICA Management coordinator for the Caribbean Region), Frits Ohler (FAO Country Representative in Haiti), Soeresh Algoe (Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname), Jacques Thomas (Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development Haiti), Manorma Soeknandan (Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)), Raul Benitez (Assistant Director General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean). 4 | P a g e II. Key messages and lessons coming out from the seminar: It is recognized that Haiti has great potential to develop and transform its agriculture, particularly through family farming and agribusiness. The Three-Year Agriculture Recovery Plan (PTRA) represents one of the key opportunities for this development and transformation. It embraces four main programs: a) family farming support, b) agribusiness and access to the market, c) rural infrastructure and watershed management and d) institutional development and governance. It aims to modernize the country’s agricultural sector (characterized by family farms that contribute up to 50% of food self-sufficiency) and the agribusiness sector in areas such as Artibonite, Central, North, North-east, South and Grand-Anse departments. The Plan translates the vision for eradicating hunger, poverty alleviation with sustainable management of natural resources and economic growth. Clear opportunities exist for private sector investment linking both family farming and agribusiness. These opportunities include: one of the largest single markets in the region, some existing capacity for production and processing, and high numbers of persons available for employment. The presentations reported that Haiti has increasing demand for agricultural products. During the period 2009-2011, Haiti imported USD 538 million in food against exports of USD 38.74 million in food crops. Investment opportunities are favorable since Haiti has a wide range of agro-climates, available land, commercial agreements (Economic Partnership Agreement as an ACP country with the EU, recently signed agreement with Bahamas last July 2014, bilateral agreements with USA, integration into ALBA, etc); proximity of the USA market, the CARICOM market and Dominican Republic. The Ministry of Agriculture is supporting family farmers by providing a) access to inputs including fertilizer and seeds, b) finance, c) rural infrastructure including irrigation and d) basic tools and equipment. The Ministry of Agriculture also assists agricultural enterprises to develop business plans, support business development and facilitate access to government owned land. Public investment in the agriculture sector has grown significantly (7-8% of the annual budget) in the recent years. Furthermore, the Government of Haiti has managed to significantly reduce the time taken to establish a business in the country (including the sector of agriculture) from over 100 days to just 5 days by adjusting the procedures of establishing the business. Foreign investors from countries such as Mexico, USA, Dominican Republic and Jamaica inter alia, have already shown interest in investment. Haiti Broilers (HB) S.A is a clear example of potential success of Caribbean investment in the agricultural sector in Haiti, driven by the high demand, availability of locally grown raw materials (corn, sorghum, cassava, etc) and labour. The company is a large scale enterprise which works directly with 1300 small farmers, providing them with technology, training and free technical support. It establishes contracts with farmers to supply raw materials and works directly with 130 distributors spread throughout Haiti. Another example is the growing interest in greenhouse development for horticulture in Haiti. The case presented by the president of the Greenhouse Association in Haiti showed a clear impact of the support provided by the government in collaboration with IICA to this sector. 5 | P a g e Interest for investment in Haiti is growing. A total of USD 600 million in investments is expected by the end of 2015, of which USD 273 million is to be signed before the end of 2014. This represents an increase from USD 30 million in 2013. Interest for investment in Haiti: growing Expected total of USD 600 million investments by the end of 2015, of which USD 273 million to be signed before the end of 2014, moving from a total of USD 30 million in 2013. The government wishes to encourage returning members of the diaspora to become longer term entrepreneurs rather than short term consultants. Import taxes for Haiti were described as being the lowest in the world and serve as a disincentive for family farmers. This is because local produce has to compete with imported subsidized products. Haiti’s bound rates for agricultural products do not exceed 30%. In addition, a large number of rates were set at zero. Imported agricultural products have been charged very low tariffs to make cheap