Diri Nasyonal ou Diri Miami? Food, agriculture and US-Haiti relations.

摘要

The US government has made agricultural development a major pillar of its strategy to support Haiti's reconstruction following the 2010 earthquake, and has offered the largest bilateral pledge of agricultural development-related resources for reconstruction. The United States has also designated Haiti as a beneficiary of the US presidential Feed the Future Initiative, a major effort to promote smallholder farmer-based agricultural development and improved human nutrition worldwide. US agricultural aid to Haiti focuses primarily on boosting the productivity of staple crops for local markets, including rice. Assistance in exporting crop produce receives less emphasis. While US assistance is contributing to agricultural development and food security, a number of steps could be taken to improve its effectiveness. In addition, the United States has aggressively promoted trade liberalization in Haiti. The country is now the second largest market for US rice exports. US rice producers receive substantial government payments, and ship nearly half their produce overseas. In contrast, between 2000 and 2005, the Haitian government devoted just 4 % of its budgetary expenditures to agriculture, even though the sector employs more than half the workforce and accounts for a quarter of national income. This article assesses US aid to Haitian agriculture, examines the political economy of the incoherence between US agricultural assistance on the one hand and US agricultural trade policy on the other, and proposes policy alternatives