The rainy season in Haiti began on schedule in March/April, with good levels of rainfall allowing farmers in most parts of the country to begin planting their fields as early as March. Progress in plant growth and development is reported in the Southern, Western, and Central regions. However, certain municipalities in the upper Artibonite, Northwest, and Northeast have been affected by a drought, causing crops to fail in January and February and putting poor households in a stressed condition.
The lean season, which began in February/March, is in full swing, with consumers dealing with seasonally high prices. Prices for imports, which account for over 70 percent of market inventories, are lower than prices for locally grown crops. The situation is expected to improve by early June, with the spring harvest. Most poor households are expected to experience no acute food insecurity.
The government’s resignation in February and the subsequent delay in approving the budget for the fiscal year from October 2011 to September 2012 have affected food security conditions. The usual government assistance for farmers may come too late or may not be up to par. The availability of chemical fertilizer and seeds has been reduced, resulting in poor harvests. The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to make massive quantities of bean seeds available for the summer growing season in wet mountain areas.
The harvests for the less important second rice-growing season in the Artibonite Valley are staggered throughout the month of April, but do not significantly affect rice prices at the country level. With supplies of chemical fertilizer unable to keep pace with demand, this year’s harvest is expected to be below-average. The cost of a 50 kg sack of fertilizer at planting time in November of last year was triple the price in November of 2010. The rice harvest affords employment opportunities for unskilled farm laborers in rice-farming areas of the Artibonite Valley.
The following assumptions are based on current conditions and most likely future trends in the nationwide situation: average levels of rainfall in all parts of the country will help facilitate crop production, resulting in an average harvest. Harvests for the current growing season will improve the availability of locally grown food crops on domestic markets beginning in June. Staple food prices will come down between June and September, as is generally the case at that time of year. Rice prices, driven by trends in world market prices, will also come down. The mango season will begin in May and run through June in practically all parts of the country, affording income-generating opportunities for all wealth groups.