US dumping of subsidised rice on Haiti has had devastating effects on local rice producers, and gone hand in hand with rising child malnutrition

"Rice producers want a better life. We work hard for it. But when we get to market we are bombarded with an invasion of cheap imported rice, so we have to sell at any price that a buyer is prepared to give us. How can we compete against the big guys?"
- Inodil Fils, rice farmer, Artibonite Valley, Haiti

At the start of the 1980s, Haiti produced almost all of its own rice. But pressure from the international community - from the USA in particular - forced Haiti to open up its markets to foreign imports. As a result, Haiti has been flooded by cheap, subsidised rice from the USA. This has driven down the price of local rice, with appalling consequences for the people - one-fifth of Haiti's population - who rely on rice production for a living.

Some rice farmers have had to leave their land in search of work in neighbouring Dominican Republic. Many have had to take their children out of school because they can't pay the fees. And people are going hungry. As their incomes shrink, rice growers are unable to buy the foods that would give them and their families a well-balanced diet. Fifty per cent of chilren in Haiti are malnourished, with the highest rate in the rice-growing areas.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
The USA is the richest country in the world.

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