Why can't Haiti feed itself?(1/3)

The Journalist, Marc Mathieu, and Lawyer, Serge Angrand discuss free trade and liberlization impact on Haiti agriculture.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Haiti
• Germer
• food
• problem
• missionary
• politics
• aristide
• government
• 1994 IMF
• farming
• farm
• agriculture
• trade liberlization
• hunger
• misery
• flood
• food riot

[brital1000]

Poukisa ou pa ka pale kreyol la menm

[GermerHaiti]

The journalist doesn't speak good creole yet, he's still working on it.

Thank you for watching the video.

[GmanZouk]

The state of New Jersey is similar in population as Haiti (9 million people). Their lottery revenues were 2.9 billion dollars. Even if we raised half of that we would get 1.5 billion. Imagine what that can do for Haiti. Remittances (Western Union/CAM) were 2.4 billion dollars in 2010. Taxing it at 10% would bring us 240 million dollars. We can have new airports just by raising the entrance fee into haiti by $10. DR has a $10 tourist card. There are watchdog groups who can monitor all.

[GmanZouk]

Once we can raise our own funds, the NGOs will no longer dictate our politics. A country can raise funds with a lottery, taxes on a variety of things, communication, food, products, property etc..., percentage of transfer (Western Union/CAM)... (4) Raise tariffs on imported foods that we can grow ourselves (e.g., rice). (5) Plant trees (NGOs are doing that) but they need security to stop the cutting. Move the people off the beaches to make way to Hotel/Resort and Casino investors.

[GmanZouk]

1. Haitian mentality. Negative. They say we are the worse in the caribbean. We have to prove them wrong. The diaspora should go to Haiti more. Once the diaspora goes, other tourists will come to Haiti. This will get the economy moving. 2. Some in power are "patripoche". They should be patriotic. Some do not even have an high school diploma. 3. Most aid go to the NGOs so projects are slow to be done in Haiti. The government should raise their own funds and not depend on NGOs.

[GmanZouk]

Aristide signed the contract so that Clinton can return him to power. But even before that Baby Doc had signed a similar contract but not as harsh as the Aristide contract. In effect, it killed our agriculture. Any country like America is always going to do what is best for them. Actually I should say any corporation... so we have stop blaming other people/countries/corporations/­NGOs and look at ourselves. We can do what is best for Haiti like here in the DR. I have a short list as follows:

[GmanZouk]

We cannot keep blaming America for Haiti being poor. America has been meddling in Haiti's business since 1870's. Frederick Douglass who was ambassador of Haiti said it in a speech in Chicago that some Americans were inciting revolts in Haiti so that they sell their guns to the Haitian population. Under the United Nations policy, the U.S., is named as the protector of Latin America. In 1994, Aristide signed a contract to allow rice and other American commodities to enter Haiti.

[LouieArrighi]

Protectionism is the only way. we have a problem in the US as well with multinationals exporting jobs and receiving subsidies. HAiti can't compete with subsidized grains from the US.

[hebrewmatrix]

206 yrs free but no 15 floor high rise,,buildings. ..none whatsoever. Whats wrong with the haitian citizen and Govt....??????????????

[ambreginny]

Constant unrest and political blablablas have only made us more dependent on imports and further hurt the livelihood of the peasants who have been the backbone of the country. Internal fighting have led to flood of Dominican products to enter the market from the border, illegally and legally. Haiti must rid its markets of these and raise the tariff. National production should be our highest priority right now, bc we should be able to feed our own and stop being a country on welfare.