Overview:
The Artibonite Valley, long recognized as the “breadbasket” of Haiti, is now facing a crisis as armed gangs drive farmers off their land, leaving fertile fields unused. With production at a standstill, the region’s once-abundant supply of produce has dwindled, causing food shortages and driving up consumer prices in Haiti.
GONAÏVES – Once celebrated as the “breadbasket” of Haiti, the Artibonite Valley has been transformed into a landscape of deserted fields and empty canals. Farmers who once supported the country’s food supply now face daily threats from heavily armed gangs that control vast agricultural areas, driving them off their land and devastating Haiti’s food security.
“The gangs have claimed the land,” said Ulèrec Chérilus, describing the sharp decline in food production. He noted that rice production – an essential crop in Haiti’s food supply chain – has declined significantly, leaving many families hungry.
Artibonite Department, once the base of agriculture in Haiti
The Artibonite Department, the country’s largest rice-producing region, accounts for more than 50% of the total rice growing plots. Agronomists and farmers in the region indicate that agricultural land fed by the Artibonite River now covers an estimated 32,000 hectares.
Historically, the Artibonite region has managed its production through the Organisme de Développement de la Vallée de l’Artibonite (ODVA), which played a crucial role in Haiti’s agricultural landscape. ODVA’s efforts have made the Artibonite Valley a major rice-producing region, meeting much of the country’s basic food needs and reducing dependence on imports. Through technical assistance and resource support, ODVA has worked to boost local rice production, which has contributed to Haiti’s food security. However, recent gang activity and insecurity have disrupted irrigation and limited the effectiveness of ODVA
“Planters are stuck. The gangs make the laws here,” says André Saint-Louis, coordinator of the Network of Organizations for the Integration of Planters in Bas-Artibonite.
“Many have no choice but to flee to other towns such as Saint Marc and Gonaïves to survive.”
Agronomists and farmers warn that gangs interfering with agriculture will worsen food insecurity in an already impoverished country and that the collapse of a valley could erode Haiti’s agricultural base.
“Agriculture is not just our livelihood; it is our heritage,” Saint-Louis emphasized. “Without this, Haiti’s entire food chain will suffer.”
Pheno Joseph, The not so unique story of a displaced farmer
Farmers displaced by gang violence have moved to towns like Gonaïves, where they struggle to make ends meet. Among those affected is Feno Joseph, a prominent rice farmer in the Artibonite Valley, who owns three plots of land, known locally as ‘land carrots’.
Over the years, these lands provided his family’s livelihood, producing more than 150 bags of rice per plot – a yield critical to Haiti’s food supply chain. But today the gangs demand payments before he can even plant, and if he doesn’t pay, his fields and crops are forcibly taken.
“I used to collect hundreds of bags from my fields,” Joseph said, “but now it has been reduced to 40 bags because we are harassed and pushed off the land before harvesting.”
His production has declined under gang pressure, as armed groups regularly interfere, preventing him and other farmers from making a living.
Ulèrec Chérilus, a farmer from the municipality of Dessalines, said that more than 3,000 hectares of rice fields are now unsuitable for agriculture. Gang members, who prioritized their interests over local agriculture, have made its vast tracts of land unsuitable for production.
“They won’t let us grow anything,” Chérilus explained. “The gangs have overrun the fields and rice production has come to a standstill.”
Its once-thriving rice fields, a crucial food source, now lie barren, under the control of gang members who demand payments from any farmer who tries to farm.
From 2019 to 2023, Artibonite’s agricultural lands fell under gang control. The gangs Koko Rat San Ras in Croix-Perisse and the Grand Griffe of Savien in Petite-Rivière have imposed a ruthless reign of terror, routinely extorting farmers, stealing crops and forcibly taking over fields.
“The gangs control everything, even who can plant,” says Jeannot Ulysse, a pastor in Joanisse.
Agriculture has stopped in areas such as Petite Rivière, Verrettes and Pont-Sonde, where fields lie fallow and are overgrown with weeds.
The gangs have also devastated local economies by stealing crops and livestock and blocking transportation routes.
“Agricultural production has fallen by at least 48%,” explains agricultural engineer Gérald Telfort, technical coordinator at the Artibonite Valley Development Organization (ODVA). “They have taken over irrigation canals that feed the valley, leaving the fields barren.”
Joseph related that harvest ransoms are demanded before the harvest is even ready.
“I haven’t yet harvested the rice I grew in the field that the gang controlling from Grand Griffe is already demanding payment for.”
Farmland abandoned by farmers fleeing gang-controlled area on August 27, 2024. Photo by Ones Joseph for the Haitian Times
The presence of gangs has far-reaching economic consequences beyond food insecurity. Farmers in Artibonite now find it almost impossible to sell their goods without paying off gangs.
“The fields were everything to us,” Joseph said. “Now my family is split up: some are in Saint-Marc, some in Gonaïves. We hardly see each other and we don’t know if we will ever return to our country.
Farmers and merchants who transport goods face similar threats. On National Highway 1, drivers risk extortion or outright theft by gangs, making transportation expensive and dangerous.
“The gangs have completely disrupted the supply chain,” said a merchant who regularly transports rice and corn. “They determine the prices; everything we make must first go through them.”
“The violence has turned the region into a war zone. Gangs openly loot and attack anyone transporting agricultural products,” explains John Kelly, coordinator of Citizen Struggle for Artibonite’s Development.
The long-term prospects and community response require government and international support
Many face rising rents and few options to return to farming due to the lack of government support. In response to these pressing issues, the Departmental Directorate of Agriculture convened a sectoral meeting last June, bringing together several government agencies and international partners to strategize around the food insecurity challenges facing the department. The meeting emphasized the need for joint efforts to address the complex issues affecting agricultural production and support for displaced farmers. However, although the Artibonite Valley Development Organization is working to improve irrigation systems, it faces serious limitations.
“We need safety just as much as we need water in those irrigation canals,” says agricultural engineer Telfort. “Without that, nothing grows here.”
Following the release of a CNSA report showing that a high percentage of the Artibonite population is food insecure due to gang violence, Renaud Gene, Artibonite’s director of agriculture, said in June that an emergency strategy meeting had taken place with state and international partners. However, implementation remains slow as security conditions deteriorate. With the police presence in Artibonite not sufficient to keep gang dominance under control, residents are calling for urgent national intervention.
“Our department is dying,” Saint-Louis said. “We can’t wait. The government must act now to protect the country and its people.”
As more people are driven from their homes and fields, the Artibonite region’s legacy as a food supplier for Haiti is fading, leaving an uncertain future for those who depend on its fertile soil. Organizations like the ODVA and Citizen Struggle for Artibonite’s Development continue to call for immediate action. Without urgent intervention, Artibonite risks becoming yet another ghost region, bereft of its agricultural heart, and calling for immediate action. Without urgent intervention, Artibonite risks becoming yet another ghost region, deprived of its agricultural heart.
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