Overview

Due to the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti in January 2010, the country’s capacity has been significantly reduced. The immediate priorities are reconstruction and recovery. This situation could also be a window of opportunity for addressing pressing issues faced by women, most of who work in subsistence agriculture. Some significant results have already been achieved by the Gender Action Plan (GAP)-funded project, such as a consultation exercise with women agricultural workers; the design of preliminary project indicators to monitor gender in the agriculture sector; and the creation of a plan for financial literacy training programs for women. A crucial outcome so far was the acceptance of gender as a Ministerial priority through the launch of the Agriculture Public Services Project in early February 2010.

Challenge

IHaiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most disadvantaged in the world. Some 76 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, with 56 percent living in extreme poverty. Poverty strikes hardest in rural areas where education and economic opportunities are limited, and basic social services and infrastructure are severely lacking. Nearly 90 percent of poor households and 67 percent of extremely poor households live in the rural areas. Basic rural infrastructure services are virtually non-existent, or severely depleted. According to the Household Living Conditions Survey for 2003, only 11 percent of rural households have electricity, compared to 70 percent of the wealthiest quintile.

Agriculture is a potentially important source of pro-poor growth in Haiti, and it already plays a dominant role in the economy, contributing 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 50 percent of overall employment – two-thirds of employment in rural areas, and three-quarters of employment for the poor. There are approximately 1 million farmers in Haiti, who in large part live in poverty and experience various levels of food insecurity.

Although both women and men face poverty-induced difficulties due to limited human and financial capital, women face greater obstacles. In Haitian agriculture in particular, it is widely recognized that gender is the primary influence on the division of labor and employment prospects. At the national level, there has been extremely limited investment to help women in agriculture improve their productivity and incomes.

Approach

IDA’s main approach to the challenge of increasing women’s livelihoods in the agricultural sector has focused on enabling the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) to prioritize and improve agriculture support services, namely farmer extensions. The Fostering Economic Empowerment for Women Agricultural Producers in Haiti Project, funded by the Gender Action Plan (GAP) has integrated gender issues within the framework of the larger IDA “Strengthening Agriculture Public Services” project, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR).

The GAP-funded project aims to focus Ministry policy on equipping women with the right skills – both technical and financial – to increase crop yields, access markets and increase their incomes. The underlying approach chosen for the project is based on face-to-face training, discussions and interactive interventions. The gender sensitization workshops for the Ministry have been designed to educate staff about the importance of women as economic actors. Training at the community level aims to highlight cultural factors that bring about men’s resistance to women’s active participation and leadership in agricultural production.

Results

Key results include a consultation report on women producers and their needs; an assessment of the capacity building needs of the Ministry team; the creation of preliminary project indicators to monitor gender inclusion in the agricultural sector, and the financial literacy pilot. A less tangible, yet equally important result for the sustainability and buy-in of the project in the long run, has been the continuing cooperation between the World Bank team and line ministries in Haiti who have worked throughout the immensely difficult post-earthquake period to ensure project success.

Bank Financing and Other Support

The GAP grant for empowerment of women is US$35,000. The gender activities began implementation in August 2009 and finished in June 2010. The GAP initiative is connected to the US$ 5 million IDA “Strengthening of Agricultural Public Services Project”  (2009-2014) whose objective is to enable the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) to priorities and target investments according to sector policies, and improve local agriculture support services. As part of this effort the operation will strengthen farmer extension and support services and finance the expansion of the provision of improved agriculture support services in the pilot areas of les Cayes (Ferme Levi) and Thiotte-Savane Zombi.

Voices

Many of us cannot read and we don’t know finance like men, so we can’t be leaders. If we want to be in charge, we must find ways to learn these skills.  

—Azacca, a female farmer from Thiotte.

Toward the Future

Due to the earthquake, the Ministry has not been able to launch the trainings yet. However, dedicated staff ensured that momentum was not lost, and focused on tasks that could be undertaken independently from the Ministry, for example, the assessment of women producers in the pilot zones and the development of a pilot financial literacy curriculum. IDA will continue to provide technical assistance on potential indicators and gender sensitization training materials, even if, given the current situation, they cannot be fully tested yet.