« The social movements of July 6-7, 2018 set in motion our descent into hell », testifies a young entrepreneur
Following their studies in agronomy, three young Haitian entrepreneurs, drawn to agricultural entrepreneurship, set out to make their mark in the livestock sector. Their main interests? Egg production and broilers.
But several years after the initial excitement and significant investments, the experience has left them with a bitter aftertaste.
Junior Poteau hails from Fond-des-Blancs, a commune in the South department. In 2017, he set up Tamarin Farm in his hometown with 2 other classmates.
Its production capacity was over 2,500 broilers and 2,800 layers.
Next door, they built a pigsty with over 80 pigs. They staked everything on the little farm, which quickly found customers all over the country.
But several years after the initial excitement and significant investment, the experience has left them with a bitter aftertaste.
« We knew there were a lot of opportunities in this sector in Haiti. We wanted to take advantage of this and reduce Haiti’s dependence on the outside world, » explains Poteau.
In 2018, seeing the need to increase production in relation to growing demand, he and his classmates obtained a nine million gourde loan from the Crédit Agricole bank at the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR)with a « high » interest rate of 18-22%.
A few months later, what seemed like a dream becoming reality abruptly turned into a nightmare.
« The social movements of July 6-7, 2018 set in motion our descent into hell, » declares the young entrepreneur.
The ensuing instability and the situation in Martissant had an impact on production. Junior Poteau could no longer buy soybeans in Port-au-Prince for his chickens, which began to die within a few days.
A few months later, what seemed like a dream becoming reality abruptly turned into a nightmare.
« Given the uncertain context, we were forced to cancel the disbursement of funds from Crédit Agricole, » Poteau explains to AyiboPost.
Despite everything, the team fought on to save the pigsty.
But to make matters worse, in 2021, swine fever showed up and killed more than half of the animals.
Read also : 40 ans après, la maladie qui a causé l’abattage des cochons créoles refait surface en Haïti
Intent on saving his remaining stock, Poteau went to the Ministry of Agriculture to buy the vaccine against African swine fever. But to no avail. He was informed that the vaccine was not available at the time.
« So, before my very eyes, the animals died one after the other. This resulted in a deficit of over 500,000 gourdes, » he laments.
In Croix-des-Bouquets, Yvener Junior Guerrier suffered a similar fate. His farm « Lapinou et Poul pa nou, » where he raised rabbits, broilers and eggs, is now in ruins.
Apart from the national lockdown (peyi lock) and the criminal activities of the 400 Mawozo gang, which forced him to move, another misfortune pursued him.
« The closure of the mills in Haiti for security reasons, the only place I used to buy food for my chickens, put me over the edge, » he explains.
Read also : Pourquoi trois entreprises de l’État haïtien se retrouvent aux mains du secteur privé ?
Despite multiple attempts to relaunch in 2019, he closed his doors for good in 2020.
« The livestock sector in Haiti, particularly poultry farming, faces many structural challenges which explain the challenges faced by companies to survive much less meet local demand, » explains Michel Chancy, entrepreneur and former Secretary of State for Animal Production, contacted by AyiboPost.
« The lack of control over the quality of imported products, as well as the reduction in customs duties for certain products, makes the misfortune of Haitian producers,” stresses the specialist.
The livestock sector in Haiti, particularly poultry farming, faces many structural challenges which explain the challenges faced by companies to survive much less meet local demand.
What’s more, continues Chancy, the poultry sector, particularly broiler and layer production, is highly dependent on the outside world.
« In a context where producers face immense structural constraints, such as electricity to run hatcheries and road infrastructure to transport them, it’s difficult to compete with foreign products, » he adds.
Later, Michel Chancy speaks of the negative repercussions of this unfair competition on the country’s producers: « It becomes very difficult for a Haitian entrepreneur to survive in this context, given that he is faced with subsidized or smuggled foreign products ». Added to this is a fluctuating socio-political context that is unsuitable for investment.
But despite everything, some companies are making progress, concludes Michel Chancy.
At present, most of the inputs needed to run this industry, such as layers, soybean meal, cereals, medicines and packaging, etc., come from outside the country, notably from the Dominican Republic and the United States.
In a context where producers face immense structural constraints, such as electricity to run hatcheries and road infrastructure to transport them, it’s difficult to compete with foreign products.
For economist Enomy Germain, contacted by AyiboPost, well beyond the problems of market access, smuggling that benefits Dominican companies, and the problem of technical and financial assistance for these young entrepreneurs, there is a structural problem.
« There are tremendous opportunities, of course, but the State is not supporting the egg and chicken production sector in Haiti, and that’s serious, » comments the economist.
What’s more, according to the Econo-plus presenter, lack of experience coupled with the many risks associated with the poultry sector make it very difficult for these young companies to find bank loans.
Indeed, with interest rates ranging from 10% to 48% on loans in a depressed socio-economic context, young companies are struggling to stay on course and ensure their survival.
In Germain’s view, the failure to take overall responsibility for the development of this industry benefits the foreign market. This contributes to the export of the little money it generates.
There are tremendous opportunities, of course, but the State is not supporting the egg and chicken production sector in Haiti, and that’s serious.
« The problem is that, alongside the creation of businesses, we should develop an industry that feeds the hens and also ensures the preservation of the poultry parts, » he adds.
With 50 million eggs imported from the Dominican Republic every month and $95 million worth of chicken parts imported, the local market is struggling to develop.
To tackle this problem in depth, Enomy Germain believes that the State needs to develop a policy of industrial poultry meat supply chains and facilitate the entry of new entrepreneurs into the market.
« This would be favorable in the context of the Haitian-Dominican conflict, » he stresses.
In a study carried out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development in 2015, detailing the many obstacles undermining the development of the egg and broiler production sector in Haiti, specialists note that serious endeavors and investments should enable local supply to rise from 40% to 80%, while enhancing the local industry.
Read also : Des pistes pour résoudre la crise alimentaire en Haïti
In Petit-Goâve, Étienne Salvalson was unable to keep his 1,000-chicken and layer farm launched in 2019, despite a start-up fund of over US$3,500.
« After losing all my investments, I don’t think I’ll do it again, » he says. « Unless it gets better. »
English translation by Sarah Jean.
Image de couverture : freepik
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