Following the earthquake, many whose homes were destroyed have left the cities and traveled to the countryside, to seek shelter with relatives. Conditions there were already rough – and “as people have fled to the countryside they’ve fled to very poor towns and that’s compounded the suffering,” said Stephen Bartlett, coordinator of education and advocacy for Agricultural Missions, an ecumenical nonprofit group that works to address poverty and injustice in rural areas, including in Haiti. With the influx of displaced people, Bartlett said, “there’s little food, little shelter.”
So FONDAMA, a farmers’ cooperative in Haiti with which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) works as a partner, is trying to raise money to buy 400 tons of corn and other grain seeds, beans, and peas to distribute to 30,000 Haitian farmers. The cost will be about $1 million – and so far, the Presbyterian Hunger Program already has sent $30,000 to help FONDAMA (the name Fondasyon Men-lan-men Ayiti, in Creole, means Foundation Hands in Hands Haiti) meet that goal.
Randy Ackley, who leads Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, has so far discouraged Presbyterian congregations from sending short-term mission trips to Haiti, saying volunteers can make a difficult situation worse unless they possess needed skills and expertise.
In March, Bartlett traveled to Haiti with Lionel Deronencourt, coordinator of the Joining Hands program of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. The story of the earthquake “is also a story of incredible solidarity,” he said. “Very impoverished people are receiving … their extended family as well as the orphaned children of distant relatives.”
With such an influx of hungry people, the local farmers began using their seed supplies just to feed people, instead of conserving seeds for the next growing season, Bartlett said. The result: seed shortages, which – with the planting season already here – could lead to even a prolonged shortage of food in the months to come. And even when seeds are available, many Haitians have no money with which to buy them.
Even before the January earthquake, Haiti faced many challenges; its story is a lesson on the impact of globalization and world trade policies. Several decades ago, Haiti became open to the free trade of agricultural commodities, the price of which was artificially deflated. “The farmers were forced to compete with very cheap imports,” Bartlett said. Being unable to make a living, many cut down the forests to make charcoal to sell.
“You have this vicious cycle of impoverishment leading to environmental degradation. It’s not out of ignorance,” he said. “It’s out of pure desperation for cash, to have something to sell.”
Now, there is desperation for food as well.
The farmers cooperatives with which the PC(USA) works in Haiti have an integrated program, starting with tree nurseries that include fruit trees to provide food and other trees that can provide firewood, soil stabilization, and foliage. Many are involved with water management as well, working with irrigation projects and contour farming, and building inexpensive cisterns to gather water for use in the long dry season.
Local farmers are using old tires to build raised garden beds, Bartlett said.
And groups such as his and the Presbyterian Hunger Program are trying to spread the word that “the most efficient way to help the Haitian people is to empower and strengthen the Haitian organizations that are already there, rather than trying to bring in help” from outside.
Presbyterians who want to donate to help Haitian farmers buy seeds can give online through the Presbyterian Hunger Program account H000014 for Haiti.
Or donations can be mailed to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Please indicate “PHP Account Number H000014” on all contributions to the seed fund.
