30485: Lucien Scheerhorn/Durban's response to USA - Haiti env report and agriculture (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

  From Jean-Patrick Lucien patlucien@yahoo.com

  I wanted to make a few points regarding the whole agriculture/reforestation 
debate.

  Lynn, I think you clearly made Durban point because in one paragraph you were 
able to describe Haiti’s environmental problem. There are much better things to 
do with funding that coming up with another report.

  In regards to agriculture, many people keep saying that Haiti needs to go 
back to agriculture as its basic. One thing we seem not to realize is that in 
Haiti farming is a "back breaking" job. From the time of slavery to today, 
people wake up early in the morning and spend the whole day with a machete, a 
hoe, a "pikwa" trying to grow crops that are left at the mercy of mother 
nature. Nothing seems to have changed.

  My grand father and his 5 brothers spent 10 years in the sugar cane fields in 
Cuba, when they returned to Haiti, the made sure they get their children (my 
father) to school so they would not have to endure what they had to go trough. 
I was in Maissade (in the plateau central) 5 years ago, met a farmer, he has 
been on his plantation all day. When I told him if he had any sons that could 
help me. He proudly responded, " Oh No, I have 3 sons, one is in engineering 
school, one in accounting and the other is finishing high school. I am doing 
this for them, because I want them to do better than I did."

  My point is, no Haitian farmer would want their sons and daughters in the 
farm breaking their back like they are, they have bigger dreams for their kids. 
People are moving to the cities and leaving agriculture because it is very hard 
work and it is a very risky business that does not bring them much in return. 
We can not blame a kid that has gotten an education to want a better 
opportunity nor can we blame a farmer for wanting his son/daughter to become a 
teacher, lawyer, doctor, engineer, and agronomist, especially us Haitians 
because most of us reading this (with BS, MS and Phd) are sons and daughters of 
peasants.

  Look at the US for example. Agriculture played a major role in the country’s 
economic at the beginning. In order for them to make that happen, they went and 
brought in Africans (us) as slaves to do the hard labor because they know no 
one would have wanted to do this all day. Today, agriculture is not a only a 
very subsidized sector of the economy but it is also very automated (you can 
program a tractor to do all the work)

  Every country looks for ways to transition from one economy to an other to 
ease the pains of its people. The US transitions its focus from agriculture, to 
industry to services over the years. Yet many people think that Haiti should 
stick to agriculture after 200 years using the same old technologies.

  I just read that Jamaica purchased a 2.5 millions dollar Mobile juice 
processing system and they go around collecting fruits from farmers and process 
it into concentrated juice. Imagine if all the money used for reports, were 
used to buy 4 such mobile systems for Haiti. Haiti could setup collection 
centers around the country and process the juices (trucks could be used for 
unreachable locations by the system), then farmers could start growing fruit 
trees all over the place which would ensure them a steady (weekly or monthly) 
cash. This is something I am sure that any youth or farmer could do without to 
break their back and that would be a profitable way to reforest the country.

  An other point: Why not buy 10,000 tractors and/or agricultural equipment 
with that money used in those reports and studies and setup tool rental centers 
around the country. Major donors could provide funding to maintain the 
equipment and manage the centers and rent the tools a very low cost to farmers. 
I am sure a farmer’s son would not mind driving a tractor, improve production 
on his parent’s farm while in the evening go online or connect to some friends. 
I am sure he would feel comfortable remaining in the countryside. A transition 
to new technology could them make agriculture the center of the country’s 
economy.

  In regards to factories, I do not think there is anything wrong with setting 
up factories in Haiti as long as the government makes sure that there are 
standards put in place in term of work condition and wages. The government 
could also encourage the implementation of factories outside of Port-au-Prince 
by setting up industrial parks in the provinces. We keep saying that people 
should not go factories, but what should we do with the millions youths doing 
nothing in Port-au-Prince everyday, remember they do not want to go back to 
farming. GM, Ford and others did the US a great deal by setting factories in 
Detroit.

  If someone understands what people are doing trough everyday, they will that 
know job creation is key to Haiti right now. Most of us Haitians living here 
know it because we have a family member calling every week asking us to send 
some money (Western Union, CAM ect) and they have no other choice, this is the 
hard reality.

  Regards,
  Patrick


Jean-Patrick Lucien
Dream big. Do good. Live well.