Other Agriculture Study
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Publication
Charcoal in Haiti: A National Assessment of Charcoal Production and Consumption Trends
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-11)A widely cited report from 1979 suggested that existing wood supplies in Haiti would be enough to meet increasing charcoal demand until around the year 2000, but that ongoing charcoal production could result in an environmental ‘apocalypse’ (Voltaire 1979, 21, 23) The prediction that wood supplies in Haiti would be exhausted by 2000 was also supported by a report on trends emerging from early remote sensing analyses of aerial photographs spanning from 1956 to 1978, for threedifferent locations in Haiti (Cohen 1984, v–iv). And yet, some 40 years later, Haitians continue to produce large quantities of charcoal despite these dire predictions to the contrary. The estimations and subsequent extrapolations presented here are conservative, using midrange estimates on a number of variables, including charcoal bag carrying capacities for different-sized vehicles in the classificatory typology, an average weight assumption for charcoal bags, and the utilization of annual extrapolation methods (for Port-au-Prince and all of Haiti) based on extending data sampled during representative low and peak periods of charcoal production to corresponding low and peak seasons across the entire year. This research provides targeted answers to a narrow set of research questions, helping to fill an important information gap in Haiti. Most notably, the total volume of charcoal moving into Port-au-Prince has implications on the total required volume of primary production of biomass for charcoal and the total value of the charcoal value chains, demonstrating the magnitude of importance of charcoal production for Haiti. These two up-to-date figures may inform policy decisions for development and government programming related to landscape management, reforestation, tree planting, agroforestry, and agricultural projects in Haiti. -
Publication
Haiti Coffee Supply Chain Risk Assessment
(Washington, DC, 2010-03)Coffee is an ecologically and economically significant crop for Haiti. It is not only the main source of income for more than 100,000 farmers, but the coffee ecosystem also sustains a large part of the remaining tree cover (currently at less than 1.5 percent of land) of the country. This report does not aim to detail the structural constraints impacting upon the Haitian coffee sub-sector. Instead, it describes the risks affecting the existing supply chain in terms of their potential impact and prioritizes the risks and areas requiring attention for risk management, investment, and capacity building. The Haitian coffee industry is constrained by significant systemic problems which have contributed to its decline over the years. Some of these major constraints include: (1) the structure of the coffee creole garden which contributes to low on-farm coffee productivity; (2) a land tenure system which inhibits long term investment; (3) poor transportation and logistics infrastructure; (4) limited access to credit and high interest rates; (5) aging coffee trees and farmers; (6) waning government interest and support for the coffee sub-sector; (7) lack of industry level coordination; and (8) a lack of international and domestic promotion of the Haitian coffee industry.