Coffee production in Haiti facts for kids

Coffee has been a very important crop for Haiti's economy for a long time. The French brought coffee plants to Haiti (then called Saint-Domingue) in the early 1700s. For many years, coffee and sugar were the main products that Haiti sold to other countries. Today, coffee is not as valuable for export as mangoes and cocoa.

Coffee's Long History in Haiti

Coffee plants first came to Haiti around 1715. Stronger types of coffee plants were later brought from Martinique and grown more widely.

One famous story says that a man named de Clieu brought a coffee plant from France to Martinique in 1720. He supposedly shared his water with the plant during the long sea journey. This story is often told, but coffee was already growing in the Caribbean before then. It was in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by 1715 and in Suriname by 1718.

By 1734, coffee was being grown a lot in Haiti. By 1788, Haiti was supplying half of the world's coffee!

Coffee and the Haitian Revolution

The difficult conditions for the people working on coffee farms played a part in the Haitian Revolution, which started in 1791. During the revolution, many coffee farms were burned down.

After the revolution, the Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture tried to restart coffee production. It had dropped by 45% since 1789. He set up a system where people worked on state-owned farms, a bit like serfdom. But when Napoleon sent soldiers to try and take back the land between 1801 and 1803, the coffee farms were left empty again.

Challenges for Coffee Farmers

Over the years, many things have hurt coffee production in Haiti. Natural disasters like storms and earthquakes have damaged farms. Also, the United States stopped trading with Haiti during the time of leaders like François Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier.

During Duvalier's rule, coffee farmers were afraid to come down from the mountains to sell their crops. Their farming tools rusted, and the skills for harvesting coffee were slowly lost. Because Haiti's coffee production went down, Brazil became the biggest coffee producer in the world.

Ups and Downs in the Market

Haiti's coffee market has had many "boom and bust" cycles. This means there were times when coffee was very popular and valuable, and other times when its value dropped a lot. For example, in 1850, coffee was a major export again. In 1949, Haiti was the world's third-largest coffee producer. But these good times didn't last.

Because of the ups and downs, some Haitians even burned their coffee trees to make charcoal, hoping to earn money that way. When Haiti was a top coffee producer, about 80% of its workers were in agriculture. By the 1980s, this number dropped to 66%. Even those not directly farming still helped with coffee by marketing it or being exporters.

Modern Challenges and Comeback

In recent times, growing coffee has been tough because of the weather. Haiti has problems with soil erosion and deforestation, which make it harder for coffee plants to grow. The country also faces many floods, droughts, and other natural disasters. In 2010, a huge earthquake hit Haiti, causing a lot of damage and further reducing coffee production.

However, there's good news! More and more people around the world want coffee, and this has helped Haiti's coffee industry make a comeback. Fair trade policies have helped farmers get a better price for their coffee.

Specialty coffee, which is high-quality and often has a unique story, has become very popular. Many people in Western countries care about where their coffee comes from and how it's made. This has helped small Haitian farmers. They can now sell their coffee for a higher price by focusing on its origin, making it organic, or selling it as gourmet coffee. This helps them meet the demand of people who are willing to pay more for special coffee.