NEWSBYOXFAM AMERICA

As a Haitian farmer, Jacqueline Morette knows about challenges. Although about half of Haiti’s workforce (including 75 percent of low-income Haitians), relies on agriculture to survive, just one farmer in ten has access to irrigation. Most farm on small plots of land, and few have the luxury of using machines or fertilizers.

“Most Haitians are food insecure,” said Morette during a US speaking tour last October. “A lot of our kids are malnourished.”

As Morette explained, it’s also hard for Haitian farmers to earn an income by selling their crops. Roads are bad, and food can spoil on the way to the market. Fluctuating food prices - caused in part by a flood of low-cost imported products like rice - mean that growers might not get a fair price.