Tout Haiti

Le Trait d'Union Entre Les Haitiens

Economie

Agricultural development not tourism expansion is the answer to Haiti's economic problems

 tourisme-agriculutre-haiti

BY: EMMANUEL ROY

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Haiti's greatest assets are perhaps its exotic culture, spectacular scenery, pristine beaches and original art. However, Haiti's food production has not kept pace with a population of ten million, largely illiterate sharing a 10,700 squares miles of eroded land caused by deforestation. Haiti's current focus on tourism expansion as a cure to its economic woes is misplaced and bound for failure. The focus must be on agricultural development.

Haiti is not the first country in the Caribbean to seek development through tourism. But unlike other Caribbean nations, Haiti lacks adequate facilities, a transport network and an educated workforce. Tourism requires heavy outlays for infrastructure, airports, roads, electric power links, water supply, sewage disposal, irrigation, and a serious legal regime for the regulation of private land use which Haiti lacks as evidenced by the L'ile-a-vache Tourist Development Project where the Haitian Government is seizing private land for private investors' use.

In addition, tourism requires sizable initial investment of tens of millions of dollars for a moderate sized hotel, and if experience is any indication, the new Oasis hotel in Petionville has been at a twenty two-percent occupancy rate since its opening, and may be heading to bankruptcy soon. While the Haitian government may offer free land and customs exemptions and other incentives to attract foreign investors, the benefit to the Haitian economy will be de minimus at best. Several studies by the World Bank, IADB and others estimate that only one person per hotel room will be directly employed, and one local job will be created for every ten tourists, hardly an economic formula to solve Haiti's chronic poverty and unemployment.

Profits from tourism are not dependable because of factors beyond the control of the Haitian Government. Factors such as international air fares, recessions in rich countries, and most importantly leakage for which Haiti is primed. Many countries such as the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica and other islands have endured severe leakage - the portion of the tourist dollar loss to the local economy turns out to be much higher than expected. Haiti stands to lose between fifty to seventy cents of every dollar it expects to get from tourism expansion.

Haiti would be wise not to consider tourism as the mainstay of its economy. First, Haiti does not have the required infrastructure to support tourism expansion. Second, Haiti does not produce any goods that are needed locally for tourism expansion or for tourists' consumption. For example, construction materials needed to build resorts and hotels, kitchen equipment, furniture, beds, foods and beverages must all be imported from other countries leaking money to rich countries that should go to local Haitian businesses. Even the advertising for tourism must be placed in rich countries where the tourists are located. Studies have shown that leakage ranges from one-third to one-half of the gross receipts, and profits from tourism benefit mainly the foreign corporations that own the resorts, not the host country.

Moreover, the Haitian Government should note that tourists are notoriously fickle. The Dominican Republic and Jamaica are good examples. Some of the resorts in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic enjoy periods of popularity, however, most of their resorts which were popular at one time lost their popularity because of factors beyond government control. In a country as political unstable as Haiti, one political upheaval, a popular demonstration or the kidnapping of a tourist is enough to frighten most tourists and turn a popular tourist destination into a cemetery at dawn.

Instead of seeking to produce a crop of waiters, guides, maids, drink mixers and taxi drivers for unreliable and ungracious rich tourists from North America, the Haitian government should focus its energy and resources on agricultural development and reforestation.

With the best climate and some of the richest soil, Haiti is nevertheless one of the biggest importers of food in the Caribbean. Haiti even imports fish. The demise of Haiti's agriculture has its genesis in deforestation where people constantly cut and burn trees for cooking. A national reforestation movement is vital if Haiti is to produce its own foods. The Martelly/ Lamothe administration must shift its emphasis from tourist development to agricultural development. Research has shown a direct correlation between hunger and illiteracy. Between education and food, poor people who are constantly in search of food to feed their families worry not about education. By focusing on agricultural development, agri-products and new technology to produce foods, the Haitian government could simultaneously improve nutrition, generate economic growth, create new markets, save foreign exchange, enlarge opportunities for young Haitians to be trained as agricultural technicians, reduce rural poverty and unemployment, decentralize Port-au-Prince as the center for business exchanges all the while safeguarding the environment through reforestation.

This can be done through a national agricultural development project under the aegis of the Minister of Agriculture with foreign partners from Vietnam, Brazil, France, Venezuela and the United States. Under this program, farmers will be recruited, given land and trained on crop yields. Young agricultural technicians will conduct research on several crops and prospective yields with their foreign counterparts. New knowledge and technology, including machinery and other equipment for mass production may be acquired through foreign partnership and direct investment.

The United States, Brazil and France possess the most advanced technology for growing, producing, innovating and preserving foods. Productive international assistance must include agricultural development. The Haitian government can demand to be taught how to fish instead of having to ask our benefactors for a fish. The most pressing assistance Haiti needs is in agricultural development and reforestation, not tourism. "A bon entendeur salut."

Emmanuel Roy
is a freelance writer
Follow him on twitter
@EJRManny

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