According to recent figures, rice is the main food item imported by Haiti, and it is also the most important staple of the population’s diet. According to Haiti’s National Food Security Coordination Agency (CNSA), milled rice imports during 2010 reached 381,212 tons, while domestic milled rice production in 2011 was 77,551 tons. Total rice consumption in Haiti reaches a little less than 458,000 tons annually, with 83 percent imported, and just 17 percent produced domestically. As Table 5 indicates, Haiti’s import dependence shows a clear upward trend in recent years, owing to the stagnation of domestic production for more than two decades, with volumes of around 70,000 tons. It is clear that Haiti’s abrupt tariff reduction in the mid-1990s and its lack of public policies to support small-scale producers have contributed to this stagnation.

Click here to download Oxfam’s proposed national policy for Haiti’s rice sector