Kore Pwodiksyon Lokal

Kore Pwodiksyon Lokal (Support Local Production) is a small but growing advocacy movement in Haiti that encourages people to buy local products. Check out this commercial produced by some of my friends at KPL - it has been airing frequently on national television for the last several months. (English subtitles included)


2008 has been a particularly difficult year for the stability of Haitian food system. Protests against the high price of food spread across the country mid-April. Hurricane-related rains in September destroyed a significant percentage of this season's harvest - likely the foreshadowing of further price increases in the months to come.

The artificially low cost of imported food (due to the policies of the US and other governments to subsidize their own farmers to overproduce) and environmental destruction have contributed to the decline in local production of staple foods like rice and peanuts. The lack of a strong stable government means there is little to no leadership in the realms of trade policy or development of infrastrcuture that could help counteract these factors. (Another very pertinent issue is that donor funding follows trends. Agriculture projects were very popular among international donors during the 70's and 80's in the wake of the green revolution. In the 80's, 90's donor attention moved on to other initiatives like family planning and building schools and most recently microfinance and HIV/AIDS, leaving development of the agricultural sector in donor-dependent countries underfunded. When I visited USAID Haiti a couple years ago, they told me that they no longer had a single agronomist on their staff).

Per the law of supply and demand, low supply of locally produced food translates into higher prices. A year ago it was US$2 more per tin to buy Diri Peyi (rice grown in Haiti) than Diri Miami (Miami rice - imported). For families living on less than $1 per day, price inevitably wins out over other perferences. Urban families are particularly prone to purchasing imported food because much of what is produced Haiti's rural agricultural provinces is also consumed there as poor infrastructure makes it logistically difficult and financially costly to get locally grown food to urban markets.

Declines in local production are more than just economic losses. Local food systems deeply reflect cultural identity. Local foods simply taste better to many Haitians. One particular variety of Haitian rice grown in the Artibonnite Valley has a very distinct almost ammonia-like smell and strong taste compared to the bland imported white rice. The first time I cooked with it I actually thought that something had gone terribly wrong and I was really apologetic to the hosts of the dinner party about the bad smell of my rice and lentils. Since then I've grown to really like this uniquely fragrant rice.

One of the exciting things to come from the April food riots was a lot of discussion in the Haitian media about the need to support local production for the sake of Haiti's national food security. Everyday Haitians are able to eloquently articulate fundamental issues of global trade policies and their effect on local food prices. There is a renewed appreciation for the importance of local food systems - and more recently what seems to be an awakening among some international donors for the need to reinvest in national production.