The cholera outbreak that has been ravaging Haiti since November 2010 is having a lasting effect on Haiti’s rice crop, according to CNN.
“A chunk of Haiti’s rice harvest will probably be lost because of farmers’ fears of cholera contamination, the United Nations said Wednesday. On top of that, consumers are afraid to buy rice grown in areas affected by the cholera outbreak.”
Aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontieres) have seen the Haitian government overwhelmed in trying to respond to the cholera outbreak. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has picked up some of the slack, “…providing hygiene information to farmers who are reluctant to step into rice paddies, fed by rivers and canals, to harvest the crops.”
FAO acknowledged in a statement that Haiti’s recovery from the January 2010 earthquake and 201o hurricane season depend on maintaining food security. For this reason, getting the most from Haiti’s rice crop is critical. Successful education programs for farmers to counter their fears of being contaminated and a further spreading of the disease will also be crucial until the cholera outbreak is brought under control.
Posted by Michael Lucivero.
