Last week, thousands of farmers and supporters of Haitian peasant agriculture marched for hours under the hot Caribbean sun to call for more government support for locally grown seeds and agriculture.<\/p>\n
The demonstration was organized by the Peasant Movement of Papay and other farmer associations, human rights and women\u2019s groups, and the Haitian Platform for Alternative Development (PAPDA), the Haitian online agency AlterPresse reported<\/a> from the march. The official theme of the peaceful demonstration was \u201cLand Grabbing is Endangering Agricultural Sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n Singing slogans like \u201cLong Live Haitian Agriculture!\u201d and \u201cLong live local seeds!\u201d the crowd \u2013 wearing straw hats and red T-shirts \u2013 wound its way on foot, donkeys, and bikes through this dusty provincial capital. The demonstration ended at a square named for farmer Charlemagne P\u00e9ralte, who lead the \u201cCaco\u201d peasant revolt against the U.S. army occupation from 1916 until 1919, when U.S. Marines assassinated him.<\/p>\n One year ago, thousands of farmers covered the same march route to protest the import of a \u201cgift\u201d of seeds from Monsanto<\/a>. The farmers burned some of the seeds, calling them a \u201cdeath plan\u201d for peasant agriculture.<\/p>\n Last spring, in violation of Haitian law, the Minister of Agriculture gave the agribusiness giant Monsanto permission to \u201cdonate\u201d 505 tons of seeds to Haiti. The first shipment of 60 tons, reportedly of maize and vegetable seeds, arrived in May 2010. Some of the seeds were coated with a chemical (Thiram)[1] so toxic that the EPA forbids its sale to home gardeners<\/a> in the U.S.. Monsanto announced its $4 million gift was \u201cto support the reconstruction effort\u201d<\/a> in Haiti.<\/p>\n What has become of the seeds that Monsanto gave? \u00a0And how real was the fear of Haitian farmer organizations that the donation was a Trojan horse?<\/p>\n Haiti Grassroots Watch explored the impacts in a three-month investigation, \u201cSeeding Reconstruction or Destruction?<\/a>\u201d <\/a>and \u201cMonsanto in Haiti<\/a>.\u201d Excerpts from the report follow.<\/p>\n Connections:<\/em><\/p>\n In Haiti, a US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded agricultural project accepted the Monsanto \u201cgift.\u201d USAID\/WINNER (Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental Resources)<\/a> is a five-year, $126 million US taxpayer-funded agriculture and environment program. WINNER is run by giant beltway contractor Chemonics International<\/a>, which in 2010 ranked #51 on the list of top 100 US government contractors in the world, earning over $476 million in contacts that year<\/a>.<\/p>\n USAID\/WINNER\u2019s Chief of Party is Jean Robert Estim\u00e9, minister of Foreign Affairs under dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.<\/p>\n Unlawful Entry:<\/em><\/p>\n In its post-earthquake strategy document, the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture called for massive seed distribution \u2013 covering 30 percent of farmers\u2019 needs \u2013 for three seasons post-earthquake, and gave its warm approval of the Monsanto \u201cgift.\u201d This is even though allowing new varieties (the maize and most of the vegetable varieties) onto Haitian soil directly contravenes Haitian law and international conventions\u2026 which aim to protect the gene pool and the ecosystem in general.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Agriculture issued a list of \u201capproved\u201d seed varieties in March. None of the maize varieties on the list are hybrids.<\/p>\n Asked by Haiti Grassroots Watch about the fact that new varieties posed a threat to Haitian biodiversity, and that seeds and other plants and animals are being imported into Haiti without control, Ministry of Agriculture Director of National Seed Services Emmanuel Prophete admitted that the Ministry does not have the power to control the borders.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are supposed to have a quarantine system, and all seeds should be tested for germination and adaptation before they are distributed,\u201d Prophete conceded in an interview earlier this year. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the power to do that at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the introduction of the Monsanto hybrid seeds onto Haitian soil, Francesco Del Re of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would not directly condemn the \u201cgift\u201d seeds. But, he noted, for its emergency seed distributions, the FAO-led \u201cAgriculture Cluster\u201d imported only the seeds on [the government approval] list, \u201cfor a very precise reasons, because the hybrids need to be renewed every year and do have to be bought by peasants every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if the FAO attempted to block the Ministry or the USAID\/WINNER program from importing and distributed seeds, Del Re said: \u201cWe gave advice. That is what we did. Afterwards, naturally, we are not the national police, so we can\u2019t verify everything, everywhere, but we did all we could do\u2026 I agree with the philosophy that we discussed with the Ministry and that we put into place with them. Afterwards, if other partners make other choices, that is their responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Dangers of Introducing Untested Seeds in Emergency Context:<\/em><\/p>\n In a May 13 news release, Monsanto announced: \u201cHaitian farmers, who otherwise may not have had sufficient seeds to plant this season [Haiti Grassroots Watch emphasis] in their earthquake-ravaged country, are receiving help from a unique public and private partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n Except\u2026 Haitian farmers did have enough seed to plant that season, according to several reports.<\/p>\n Monsanto\u2019s \u201cgift\u201d announcement came a full two months after the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) \u2013 which has extensive experience in Haitian agriculture development work \u2013 released a \u201crapid seed assessment\u201d report [PDF]<\/a> for southern Haiti, one of the areas worst-hit by the earthquake. The assessment, circulated to humanitarian and development organizations working in Haiti, recommended against the importation and distribution of seeds. CRS wrote: \u201cDirect seed distribution should not take place given that seed is available in the local market and farmers\u2019 negative perceptions of external seed. This emergency is not the appropriate time to try to introduce improved varieties on anything more than a small scale for farmer evaluation. [our emphasis]\u201d<\/p>\n A multi-agency seed security study shepherded by International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in the spring and summer of 2010 warned that \u201cone should never introduce varieties in an emergency context which have not been tested in the given agro-ecological site and under farmers\u2019 management conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Reached in January 2011, principal CIAT researcher Louise Sperling noted that most hybrids require extra water and better soils, and that most of Haiti was not appropriate for maize hybrids. While not opposed to the use of hybrids \u2013 when there is adequate training, irrigation, fertilizer, and when farmers can afford to replace them \u2013 she said she was concerned that \u201cthe hybrids being promoted have never been tested extensively on-farm\u201d in Haiti.<\/p>\n And, she asked, \u201cWhat if the technology fails? And, if [farmers] want to buy the seed again, where will it be available and at what price?\u201d<\/p>\n Dependence:<\/em><\/p>\n At least some of the peasant farmer groups receiving Monsanto and other hybrid maize and other cereal seeds have little understanding of the implications of getting \u201chooked\u201d on hybrid seeds. (Most Haitian farmers select seeds from their own harvests.) One of the USAID\/WINNER trained extension agents told Haiti Grassroots Watch that in his region, farmers won\u2019t need to save seeds anymore: \u201cThey don\u2019t have to kill themselves like before. They can plant, harvest, sell or eat. They don\u2019t have to save seeds anymore because they know they will get seeds from the [WINNER-subsidized] store.\u201d<\/p>\n When it was pointed out that WINNER\u2019s subsidies end when the project ends in four years, he had no logical response.<\/p>\n Director of National Seed Service Prophete told Haiti Grassroots Watch that when peasants get improved seed varieties, production rises, but \u201cthe system is based on a subsidy\u2026 You have to ask yourself about the sustainability because if the policy changes one day, where will peasants get seeds?… We\u2019ll get to a point where, one day, we have a lot of seeds, and then suddenly, when all the NGOs are gone, we won\u2019t have any.\u201d<\/p>\n Promoting the Product, Regardless of Risk:<\/em><\/p>\n According to its website, one of WINNER\u2019s goals is to help famers \u201cincrease their productivity and to double their incomes in five years\u201d through the use of better irrigation and techniques, and by using better seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs provided at only a tenth the of actual cost through \u201cFarmer\u2019s Stores\u201d run by local farmers organizations.<\/p>\n One USAID\/WINNER staffperson passed on an internal document to the journalists. \u201cPreliminary Report on the seed donation of hybrid maize and vegetable seeds from MONSANTO\u201d revealing USAID\/WINNER\u2019s intent. According to the document, \u201cDespite a whole media campaign [by grassroots organizations and \u201cpolitical leaders\u201d] against hybrids under the cover of GMO\/Agent Orange\/Round Up, the seeds were used almost everywhere, the true message got through, although not at the level hoped for [emphasis added].\u201d<\/p>\n The report continues, \u201cWe are in the process of working as quickly as possible with farmers to increase as much as possible the use of hybrid seeds in the plain areas where it is possible to give them technical support.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though most of the internally displaced people (66 percent) had returned to cities by mid-June, seed distributions continued throughout 2010 and into 2011. When CIAT researcher Sperling learned of this in March, 2011, she told Haiti Grassroots Watch, \u201cDirect seed aid \u2013 when not needed, and given repetitively \u2013 does real harm. It undermines local systems, creates dependencies and stifles real commercial sector development.\u201d<\/p>\n Sperling added that some humanitarian actors \u201cseem to see delivering seed aid as easy and they welcome the overhead (money) \u2013 even if their actions may hurt poor farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n Dangers to Humans and the Environment:<\/em><\/p>\n At least some of the farmer groups interviewed don\u2019t appear to understand the health and environmental risks involved with the fungicide- and herbicide-coated hybrids. Until Haiti Grassroots Watch intervened, some farmers were planning to grind up the toxic seed to use as chicken feed.<\/p>\n In one of our sites of investigation, the Farmers\u2019 Store is actually a room in a community building that was unlocked and unstaffed on at least one Haiti Grassroots Watch visit. The building is located in a neighborhood full of families with children.<\/p>\n Inside the room, sacks of sorghum and maize seeds, bags of fertilizer and boxes of seeds are all jumbled into a huge pile. Some of the sacks are labeled, others are not. Several open bags from Monsanto\/DeKalb in Brazil spill bright pink, chemically coated maize seeds onto the floor. Other maize seeds are in unlabeled white sacks which are punctured with holes\u2026 made by rats? Children? The farmers? That seed is covered with a white powder.<\/p>\n A half-empty bag of Pioneer seeds, also presumably hybrid, and presumably treated with fungicide and herbicide, sits open. Sunlight streams in through two windows, meaning that airborne Maxim XL, which coats the Monsanto\/DeKalb seeds, and other airborne fungicides, pesticides and fertilizers could just as easily stream out. And into the lungs of nearby schoolchildren.<\/p>\n Syngenta, maker of Maxim XL, warns that skin and eye contact, and inhalation, are dangerous. \u201cDO NOT use treated seed for animal or human consumption… DO NOT allow treated seed to contaminate grain or other seed intended for animal or human consumption. DO NOT feed treated seed, or otherwise expose, to wild or domestic birds,\u201d one warning label<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n Boxes of vegetable seed \u2013 presumably from Monsanto but not labeled as such \u2013 are jumbled about. Many of the seeds are treated with Thiram. In 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that Thiram cannot be used in home gardens, on apples, or on playing fields. The 260-page report<\/a> also detailed adverse health effects on humans, noting details like \u201cthe chronic toxicity profile for Thiram indicates that the liver, blood and urinary system are the target organs.\u201d Thiram also has \u201ceffects\u201d on foraging birds\u2019 reproduction, and thus Thiram-coated seed should not be broadcast on the soil.<\/p>\n There are also bags of Mancozeb. The EPA also looked at Mancozeb recently<\/a> (2005), saying the fungicide \u201cposes some acute and chronic risks to birds and mammals\u201d and that handlers need to wear full protective clothing, gloves and a \u201cPF 5\u201d respirator.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, all of this is dangerous. When you use Mancozeb, the farmer needs to wear a face mask, glasses and gloves,\u201d the farmer agreed. \u201cUSAID doesn\u2019t give them to us, but we buy them so they are available to the farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n When Haiti Grassroots Watch asked the farmer where the gloves and masks were stored, he looked around under some of the seed sacks. \u201cWell, maybe they ran out but we always buy them and have them here,\u201d he said, hesitantly. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n The farmer and the journalists thoroughly searched the room. There was no protective gear.<\/p>\n Secrecy:<\/em><\/p>\n USAID\/WINNER keeps a lid on its activities and tightly controls access to its work. Several WINNER employees told Haiti Grassroots Watch that before starting contracts, all staff had an agreement with Chemonics which prohibits their speaking with the media.<\/p>\n Haiti Grassroots Watch repeatedly requested an interview with USAID\/WINNER agronomists and officials to follow up on the seed \u201cgift.\u201d Requests were repeatedly denied. In addition, Communications Director Maxwell Marcelin broadcast an email \u2013 obtained by Haiti Grassroots Watch \u2013 warning: \u201c\u2026 a journalist is trying to do a report, including the project USAID\/WINNER\u2026 I ask you to be very vigilant and, if the case presents itself, do not respond to any question, no matter how simple it seems\u2026 It is important to advise us immediately of all incidents, or requests, in order to help us better respond.\u201d<\/p>\n [1] Email from Elizabeth Vancil to Emmanuel Prophete, Director of Seeds at the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, and others; released by the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, date unavailable.<\/p>\n __________________________<\/p>\n Beverly Bell has worked with Haitian social movements for over 30 years. \u00a0She is also author of the book Walking on Fire: Haitian Women’s Stories of Survival and Resistance<\/a>. \u00a0She coordinates Other Worlds,\u00a0www.otherworldsarepossible.org<\/a>, which promotes social and economic alternatives. She is also associate fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n