Plan to dump US-grown peanuts into Haiti represents yet another failed policy
▻https://www.grain.org/bulletin_board/entries/5425-plan-to-dump-us-grown-peanuts-into-haiti-represents-yet-another-failed-p
This article in the Washington Post explores the USDA’s plans in more detail. The U.S. peanut surplus came about under incentives created in an updated Farm Bill passed in 2014. Through a complex system of subsidies, the bill encouraged more peanut production—so US farmers planted more peanuts, pushing down prices and resulting in a huge surplus.
The cost of warehousing for this peanut surplus is too great—leading to the US government’s decision to give them away.
Haiti needs food—what’s the problem?
Simply put, the USDA’s plans to dump 500 metric tons of US grown peanuts into Haiti set to destroy the livelihoods of many of the people the U.S. government has sought to help since the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Many Haitian farmers grow their own peanuts. In fact, peanuts are considered a staple part of the Haitian diet and are used to produce a thick peanut butter paste that can easily be stored and released into the local markets when prices are high. So they’re vital to the Haitian economy—a fact recognized by the US government’s Hunger and Food Security Initiative, which praised an effort to bolster peanut production by Haitian funders, a project that was partly funded by the Clinton Foundation.
#arachides #Haïti #surproduction #subventions #marché_local #pauvreté