by Charles Arthur (Haiti Support Group)

Introduction

The projected costs for the implementation of the PRSP for the 2007-2010 period are as follows:
Total: One Hundred Fifty-Four Billion Five Hundred Sixty Million Gourdes (G154,560,000,000), or Three Billion Eight Hundred Sixty-Four Million U.S. Dollars (US$3,864,000,000). (Forty gourdes: one US dollar / G40:US$1)

This total covers the 'Three Priority Pillars of a Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy' plus the Cross-Cutting Policies:
Pillar 1 : Growth Vectors - G78,260,000,000 (US$1.96bn) or 50.6% of the total.

Pillar 2: Human Development - G33,037,555,925 (US$826m)- 21%

Pillar 3: Democratic Governance - G12,335,600,000 (US$308m) - 8%

Targeted and Cross-Cutting Policies and Strategies - G30,894,374,795 (US$772m) - 20%

Progressive civil society organisations' proposals for measures to tackle the roots of Haiti's problems:

- Carrying out a comprehensive agrarian reform, as called for in the country’s Constitution
; - Clearly defining zones for agriculture, zones for construction, zones for exploitation of the forest, and zones for forest conservation
; - Guaranteeing that the country takes responsibility for its own food production/exercises food sovereignty;
- Reducing the economic pressure on our natural resources, and then setting up, controlling and subsidising other sources of energy for the country;
- Increasing the production of wood for consumption;
- Protesting against the payment of US$5 million due for debt service in September, and insisting that it instead be added to the mere 51 million gourdes (US$1.3 million) that the State has so far allocated for disaster relief;
- Demanding the State stop paying the external debt and instead uses the money for the reconstruction of the social, economic and physical environment of the country.

Comparison between these proposals and the PRSP

1) A comprehensive agrarian reform, as called for in the country’s Constitution

The PRSP does not contain a plan for a comprehensive agrarian reform.

The only parts of the PRSP that allude directly to land tenure are the commitment to strengthen security of land tenure, reduce absentee landownership, and to search for land uses that will ensure sustainable development, for which the allocation is a derisory G5,000,000 (US$125,000), and a commitment to develop an agricultural land reform scheme that will help settle land disputes for which the allocation is even more meager, just G1,000,000 (US$25,000).

In terms of a wider concept of agrarian reform, the PRSP is better, and there are several commendable and well-funded plans, including those:
- to rehabilitate and upgrade water infrastructure (Existing irrigation systems rehabilitated and upgraded, and new systems built) - G2,700,000,000 (US$67.5m),
- to provide fresh capital to rural dwellers : G1,500,000,000 (US$37.5m); and
- to upgrade water storage infrastructure (Establishment of catchment ponds and cisterns) - G1,000,000,000 US$25m).

However, the amounts allocated for various other aspects of agrarian reform are relatively small:
- Promotion of livestock-raising: G300,000,000 (US$7.5m);
- Rehabilitation of roads in farm areas: G150,000,000 (US$3.75m);
- Upgrading of basic agricultural infrastructure in rural areas; G300,000,000 (US$7.5m);
- Promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises for processing agricultural products in rural and urban areas: G400,000,000 (US$10m);
- Granting of loans (especially to women) for marketing agricultural products: G120,000,000 (US$3m);
- Setting up and organization of marketing channels for agricultural products: G300,000,000 (US$7.5m);
- Relaunching of the government's agricultural extension services: G80,000,000 (US$2m);
- Recapitalization of rural women (creation of credit institutions/banks to support productive initiatives for 5,000 rural women): G129,986,300 (US$3.25m)

2) Clearly defined zones for agriculture, zones for construction, zones for exploitation of the forest, and zones for forest conservation

No such plans for clearly defined zones are envisaged in the PRSP.

The Agriculture and Rural Development part of Pillar 1 envisages “the redevelopment of the rural environment with zoning that guarantees the protection of our environment, the diversification of income-generating activities, and legal measures aimed at preserving the gains made in respect of development and improving the distribution of the wealth generated.” It does not make any suggestion of defining zones that will be exclusively used for one purpose or another as the CSOs demand.

There are, however, programmes envisaged to economically develop and protect rural zones, to plan and control urban development, to plan and develop the provinces, promote energy and carbon sequestration forests, and to protect existing forests. It must be pointed out that the amounts allocated to these programmes are relatively small.

In terms of urban development, the Cross-Cutting Policies section includes parts on:

- Urban development – The objective is to contribute to sustainable urban development and poverty reduction through the preparation of, and support for the implementation of, plans for urban development and the rehabilitation of precarious neighborhoods in the cities of Haiti, controlling urban growth, developing adequate tools, and capacity building for the authorities and beneficiary communities. Allocation: G1,59 6,000,000 (US$3.99m)

- Town and regional development – The overall objective is to help rebuild the national territory as a contribution to balanced and sustainable development over the long term. Total allocation is G15,765,000,000, the vast majority of which - G14,000,000,000 (US$350m) - is intended for activities to “energize the regions”, including the promotion of regional development (the provinces) – a process during which "all territories of arrondissements will be brought into coherence on the basis of planned development interventions".

In the Environment part of the Cross-Cutting Policies section there is a programme to improve urban environmental management by creating a National Town/Regional Development Plan to reduce anarchic construction. Allocation: G32,000,000 (US$800,000)

In terms of exploiting and conserving the country’s forests, in the Environment part of the Cross-Cutting Policies section there are the following programmes:

- to promote energy and carbon sequestration forests. Allocation: G120,000,000 (US$3m);
- to recruit and train environmental monitoring personnel and the formation of an Environmental Surveillance Corps, tasked with protecting national parks and forest preserves from human encroachment - G120,000,000 (US$3m);
- to strengthen a national system for protected areas- G120,000,000 (US$3m);
- to establish a National Agency for Protected Areas and Forests - G8,000,000 (US$200,000)

3) Reducing the economic pressure on our natural resources, and then setting up, controlling and subsidising other sources of energy for the country.

In terms of reducing economic pressure on the environment, the PRSP contains relatively modest proposals, including, in the Environment part of the Cross-Cutting Policies section, a proposal for a National Environmental Rehabilitation Programme which will subsidize imported fuels, plant-based briquettes and bio-diesel to the tune of G3,200,000,000 (US$80m). Only the subsidy of plant-based briquettes can really be seen as a means to relieve pressure on the level of use of wood for charcoal production.

There is also a programme to relieve fuel demand pressure on national wood resources with a meagre allocation of G120,000,000 (US$3m) which includes:

- Production of improved wood-burning stoves;
- Call for bids from distributors to carry out the diesel or LPG conversion of 1,000 enterprises (500 bakeries, 150 laundries, 350 distilleries and 'rapadou' (sugar paste) producers) that use wood fuel;
- Conversion of 30,000 urban households to LPG and kerosene (the provision of a 50% subsidy for households on cost of equipment);
- Expanded use of improved wood-burning stoves to rural and suburban households.

In terms of alternative sources of energy, although the section on Electricity in the Infrastructure part of Pillar 1 mentions the need to develop hydro, solar, wind and thermal power, the only part of the PRSP that concretely addresses the subject is the programme to prepare a National Plan for Energy Sector Development which will develop the regulatory framework of energy policy, and is intended in the future to lead to the construction of hydro-electric plants, and solar panel and wind farms. The allocation for this plan is G20,000,000 (US$500,000)

4) Increasing the production of wood for consumption

As mentioned above, there is no part of the PRSP that provides for the setting aside of zones for the forests that can be exploited. In fact, the only parts dealing with increasing the country’s forested areas are the aforementioned programme to promote energy and carbon sequestration forests (allocation: G120,000,000 (US$3m)) and the preparation of a Forestry Action Plan which envisages the creation of a Forestry Development Fund that will increase the areas forested or re-forested (allocation G20,000,000 (US$500,000))

5) Guaranteeing that the country takes responsibility for its own food production/exercises food sovereignty

It is difficult to envisage that the PRSP can achieve such a dramatic turnaround in terms of domestic food production.

The general objective of the Agriculture and Rural Development section of Pillar 1 is “to promote the modern practice of agriculture as a creator of wealth and respecter of the environment, with the aim of achieving food security for all and improving the standard of living of farmers”. However the allocation is G17,880,000,000 (US$447m), just 11% of the total PRSP, and nearly half of this allocation - G8,000,000,000 (US$200m) is allocated to the rehabilitation and protection of watersheds. This would be an important part of a long -term plan to exercise food sovereignty but this aim is fatally undermined by the absence of plans for a comprehensive agrarian reform.

The specific part of the PRSP relating to Food Security in the Cross-Cutting Policy section allocates just G93,000,000 (US$2.325m) to the overall objective of improving the integration and coordination of food policy and strategies for concretising the human right to food. This mainly consists of

a) Defining a framework conducive to enhanced food security and monitoring of its implementation - G39,000,000 (US$975,000), and
b) Building departmental capacities for intersectoral and inter-institutional integration - G34,000,000 (US$850,000)

6/7) The demands relating to the end to debt payments are not addressed in any way in the PRSP.

Conclusion

The PRSP - as it stands - fails to enact the measures that progressive civil society organisations believe are necessary to tackle the roots of Haiti's problems.

In terms of a compehensive agrarian reform, while programmes to improve irrigation and water conservation are well-funded, there is no serious commitment to land tenure issues, and various other aspects of agrarian reform are woefully under-resourced. There are no coherent plans to clearly define zones for agriculture, for construction, for exploitation of the forest, and for forest conservation, and the total allocation for the environment is just 4% of the total PRSP budget. In terms of reducing economic pressure on the environment, the PRSP's programmes are again woefully under-resourced. There is no serious commitment made to develop alternative sources20of energy. The amounts allocated for reforestation are derisory. The absence of plans for a comprehensive agrarian reform fatally undermine the PRSP's aim to achieve food security.

* Progressive civil society organizations signing this position paper: The Platform of Haitian human rights organisations (POHDH), the Haitian Platform to Advocate for Alternative Development (PAPDA), the Karl Leveque Cultural Institute (ICKL), the Institute for Technology and Training (ITECA), the Society for Popular Communication and Training (SAKS), Solidarity among Haitian Women (SOFA), the Democratic Popular Movement (MODEP), the Tet Kole peasant movement, the Alternative Justice Programme (PAJ), Youth Solidarity (SAJ/Veye Yo), the Papay Peasant Movement (MPP), Chandel, the Ecumenical Service for Popular Education and Development (SEDEP), the Pedagogic Training and Technical Support Group (GATAP), Antèn Nòdwès, and the International Fund for Social and Economic Development (FIDES)