Acute food insecurity affects half of Haitians

Almost half of Haiti’s population (4.97 million people out of a total of 11 million), is facing acute food shortages due to escalating violence and an economic crisis, the United Nations Food Organization (FAO) warned on Monday, calling for urgent action.

According to the predictions of this agency of the United Nations, between March and next June, of those 4.97 million people who experience or could experience this situation, 1.64 million of them are in emergency stage 4 of the ‘Integrated classification of ‘stages of food security’ (CIF ), which represents a “severe deterioration”, with 532,000 more Haitians in acute food insecurity compared to previous estimates for the same period.

According to the FAO statement, the population in a state of emergency is concentrated mainly in eight areas, including the Artibonite Valley (considered the breadbasket of Haiti), the rural areas of La Grand’Anse, La Gonâve, the cross section of the Oeste department and the poor neighborhoods of the capital Cité Soleil, Croix de Bouquets and Port-au-Prince.

Among the factors behind this “hunger crisis”, FAO cites the escalation of violence by armed gangs, the economic crisis, low agricultural yields, below-average rainfall, long-term effects of the August 2021 earthquake, successive floods and reduced access to humanitarian aid.

It specifies that the violence “not only interrupts the circulation of goods and restricts access to markets, but also inflates the prices of basic food products in an already fragile context.”

In terms of climate, the meteorological phenomenon El Niño exacerbates agricultural problems, especially for producers, with delays in the rainy season and The lack of rainfall significantly affected the outcome of the 2023 spring season, which normally accounts for half of Haiti’s agricultural production.

All this affects food prices in America’s poorest country and makes it difficult to access them: in 2023, agricultural production fell by about 39% in the case of corn, 34% in rice production and 22% in sorghum production compared to the five-year average.

Faced with this situation, the FAO warns of “dire consequences if urgent measures are not taken to address the root causes of this crisis”.

More specifically, it ensures that the urgent support needed to boost agricultural and livestock production and guarantee availability and access to food for families and communities. vulnerable farmers, as more than 75 percent of the most food insecure people live in rural areas.