Another Clinton confession

No, not another intern scandal....in early march Bill Clinton testified before the US Congress about the role his former administration's agricultural policies that protected US farmers had in undermining the Haitian agricultural sector.

"It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. It was a mistake, I had to live everyday with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did; nobody else."

Economic policies tied to IMF and other global aid in the 1980s and 90s forced Haiti to remove import tariffs on rice coming in from the United States and other global producers. These global producers had their own protective import tariffs and offered subsides to their farmers to produce more than their national markets needed - making lots of low cost rice available for export. The result - in Haitian street markets imported rice costs about half of what locally grown rice costs. Even though many people prefer the local rice's flavor and texture, people generally buy what is cheaper. Haitian farmers can not sell enough Haitian rice to fund their own production and so production falls further -raising the price of Haitian rice even higher. According to this AP article, 80% of rice consumed in Haiti is imported from the United States - Haiti's current production can only meet 50% of national consumption.

Out of trajedy can come opportunity and one of the most exciting things about the current talk around Haiti's earthquake recovery funding is the need to reinvest in local agriculture. In encourage you to check out this AP article by long-time Haiti correspondent Jonathon Katz who interviews some of the key UN players in the reconstruction effort.

That said, it's frustrating that the voices cited are the voices of foreigners. Many Haitian organizations have been tirelessly campaigning for the renewal of Haitian agriculture over the past decades. Their voices are rarely heard - even now when their message is more timely than ever. Check out this video by Kore Prodiksyon Lokal (Support Local Production)