Poor infrastructure, a lack of training and knowledge for proper fruit treatment, and unsteady schedules of outbound transport owing to recovery activities, has put Haiti’s mango production and exports at stake. The government, local exporters, international organizations, and farmers have to work closely to overcome the challenges.
Perhaps surprisingly, however, last January’s earthquake is not the main obstacle to the mango business.
“We were not affected by the earthquake except for a few people who were displaced, running around and looking for their families. What has affected the mango industry are the weather conditions: rains and the expected hurricane Tomas at the end of this week—this is of a greater concern for us now,” said Jean Maurice Buteau, managing director of JMB S.A. one of the biggest exporters of mangoes in Haiti, by phone from Haiti.
Buteau, a native Haitian, says mango production is almost entirely in the hands of small local farmers who own their own land, and grow mango trees in their backyards. After being grown on plains and at altitude of up to 400 meters (approximately 0.25 miles) in the mountains, mangoes are transported on animals to local markets, or to wholesale points where middlemen buy the produce and sell it to exporters or to local markets. Buteau’s company works with a network of people covering almost all parts of the country.
The entrepreneur says Haiti is doing major work on road construction, trying to create road links between cities. But this is not of much help for his business.
“We live in the tropics, during the rainy seasons some roads are washed out, so the government is working on that, but they cannot reach everywhere. A priority is connecting major cities, but we need to get mangoes not from cities, but from rural areas. So the poor infrastructure is a major impediment for mango exports.”
But the biggest challenge for Buteau this year was getting good boat schedules because the port is still not functioning properly, and he has to compete with the humanitarian boats unloading at the dock. American Airlines (AA), which ship large quantities of mangoes didn’t ship any this year because the earthquake destroyed the airport, AA gave over their building to receive passengers.
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Helping Farmers Reduce the Losses
One step in this direction is the two newly opened post-harvest centers in Cameau and Saut d’Eau, which are expected to increase each farmer’s profitability by 20 percent. The centers were funded by USAID and development organization, CHF International.
“We have excellent cooperation with CHF International, and we work to construct [an] agriculture infrastructure to help farmers. So far, up to 50 percent of their production was lost because they don’t have proper storage and washing conditions for the fruits,” says Buteau.
Blaise Sauverner Aimé, general coordinator of the Farmers Association in Seau d'Eau Area, confirmed in a phone interview that farmers need financial, legal, and logistical support from the government and from the international community. He says farmers lack training and the means to protect their fields as well as electricity to help with production.
“Under the current conditions, producers can’t reach the minimum requirements that would make of mango production a blossoming industry,” warns Aimé.
He says CHF is helping, acting as an intermediary between producers and exporters, and that the new centers play an important role in selecting fruits and keeping the process rolling.
Sinan Al-Najjar, Director of CHF’s KATA Program, which oversees the operation of the two post-harvest mango centers, describes how the centers work: The farmer picks mango from the field, which is close to the center. There the fruit gets washed, packed, and handed to exporters.
“With the centers, first we are reducing losses for farmers. They were losing at least 30 percent of their production, and now they are losing only 5 percent. And second, we are getting them closer to exporters and also reducing the middlemen—farmers can directly sell to the exporters,” he explained by phone.
Another good thing about the centers is that they can be used for all kinds of crops throughout the year.
Al-Najjar, who is Iraqi but has lived in Haiti for four years, says that mangoes are an important business that directly puts cash in the Haitian economy. But what private business is lacking, he says, is a clear investment plan.
“Haiti must take advantage of its products like mango, coffee, beans, etc. Agriculture is very important for Haiti. This is the only way for [the] Haitian economy to return to a positive cycle,” he says.
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Government Closes the Circle
Romer Beausicault, assistant to the minister of agriculture of Haiti says that mango production, harvest, and exports are very important to Haiti’s economic outlook. But he admits the industry is not up to international standards.
Beausicault, who is also an agronomist, explains that the standards require a certain caliber of mangoes, a certain degree of freshness (ripe, but not too ripe), and a specific wrapping method to preserve them longer, and keep them clean.
“Most producers don’t respect these requirements, causing many losses in the process. Mangoes that are aimed for export, but don’t meet the requirements are a direct loss. In order to change this, post-harvest centers are needed. Some already exist but are not enough,” he said in a phone call.
Beausicault says the government plans to encourage the establishment of medium-size plants for mango processing, which would allow for greater exports, as well as opening new post-harvest centers. Another measure is creating training centers for farmers and producers to help cut losses.
Despite the plans, Aimé from the Farmers Association expresses disappointment.
“Because mango is a priority, the government promised help, but didn’t really give anything.”
He says that after the earthquake more help is being given to cities and scant funds reach distant rural areas where mangoes are grown. Nevertheless, the exporter Buteau shows understanding of the government strategy.
“Mango is not the only thing that can solve the country’s problems, because mangoes cannot be the only goods that Haiti exports. For sure, if the government invests enough money, the mango industry can be transformed into a very profitable business. But we don’t need the government to invest directly in that business.”
Instead, the government should create incentives, private sector investment, and establish a better legal culture to help farmers protect their land. Small farmers, for their part, should organize themselves so they can plant mangoes in a more efficient way. Buteau says that now authorities have focused on creating infrastructure and reconstructing the port.
“It is the job of the private sector and the farmers to create modern conditions to develop the mango industry,” adds the exporter. However, he also sees farmers as core factors in the process.
“We are working with different organizations to see how best we can help small farmers to be more efficient, to be a little bit more professional in their production, and we are aiming at creating small commercial plantations, in order to increase the production.”
Looking a step further, Buteau points out a very important thing: the need for research and development in the sector.
“We lack facilities for research and development, which can create new exportable varieties of mango. Now we are looking for the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and are trying to convince them that this is the way to go.”
The exporter says there are enough markets to sell the increased mango production.
“We actually can never meet the demand,” concludes Buteau.
With additional reporting by Emmanuel Dantine
