Water shortage devastates acres of farmlands in Grandmont, Artibonite

GONAÏVES — More than 2,347 acres of cultivable land in Grandmont, a fertile region in the Plaine des Gonaïves, are under threat as an unrelenting water shortage wipes out spring harvests. The widespread loss of plantations across Gonaives is stripping families of income, pushing planters deeper into debt, and renewing calls for a stronger national policy to build infrastructure resilience.

“Without water, everything is lost. Rice, potatoes, tomatoes… It’s all drying up,” said Wilson Adeclat, president of the Hurigan Association of Zone 5 in the Plaine des Gonaïves. “We need water — without it, there will not be food, farmers will be ruined.” 

Fields that once produced rice, corn, eggplants, and the green leaves commonly known as lalo are now dust-colored and cracked. In desperation, farmers are using four-inch PVC pipes to pull water toward the crops — a temporary solution too weak to support one of the region’s most productive zones.

Rochenel Fils-Aimé has farmed rice on his family’s land in Grandmont for half a century. His six-acre plot, passed down through generations, has been the backbone of his livelihood and a promise to his six children. But this year, the parched earth tells a different story. The rice he spent months tending — usually ready for harvest after a long cycle of watering — is now withering before his eyes.

The irrigation crisis didn’t begin this year. Farmers say water shortages have worsened since the early 2000s, after the government widened the La Quinte River to mitigate flooding in downtown Gonaïves following hurricanes Jeanne, Hanna, and Ike. However, that intervention left the surrounding countryside parched, especially in Grandmont, where secondary canals no longer receive enough water to flow through the farmlands.

“Since they widened the river, the secondary canals no longer deliver enough water to our gardens,” said Elioverne Joseph, a lifelong planter in Grandmont. “What little water there is goes in the wrong direction.”

In the La Quinte River, many water sources once flowed freely, aided by the large trees upstream. The 2000 water diversion was poorly executed and mismanaged, leaving most of them without access to this vital resource.

With no functioning irrigation system and little support from agricultural authorities, farmers are turning to pumps — some powered by solar panels, others purchased with credit — to salvage what they can. Still, even those pumps can’t reach every plot.

Each season, Grandmont typically yields more than seven tons of rice, in addition to corn, lalo, and vegetables that feed local markets. But this year, dozens of smallholder farmers have lost everything — not just crops, but also their seed investments, fertilizer, and labor costs.

Jérôme Martial doesn’t own the land he tills, but he’s poured the last five years of his life into cultivating rice across the one-and-a-quarter acres he rents in Grandmont. This past December, he watched helplessly as the field he depended on dried up. With no water to salvage the crop, his seasonal work — and income — vanished.

“I lost everything,” said Martial.. “I can’t repay my debt. My whole life is destroyed this year.”

Frantz Gabilus, a second-generation farmer, has worked three scattered acres of inherited land for the past ten years. He rotates his crops — rice, corn, small potatoes, and vegetables every three months. But this season, he said, “everything is gone.” The drought didn’t just wipe out his harvest, it erased a year’s worth of planning, investment, and labor.

“We’re tired of this drought that keeps us from harvesting even the basics — corn, small potatoes, vegetables,” said Gabilus.

Farmers say a nearby spring known as sous Kaska, a spring at the foot of the mountains, could be the answer — if only it were connected to their lands. According to local estimates, the spring could irrigate nearly 2,471 acres of farmland, the same total under the drought.

A clear ask, an unmet need, a system failing its farmers

For years, the community has asked for support to dig canals and install a system to direct water from the spring to the gardens. However, farmers say their letters and proposals to the Departmental Directorate of Agriculture in Artibonite have gone unanswered.

“Sous Kaska se lavi pou nou, Creole for Spring Kaska is a lifeline for us ” said Pérard Noël, who farms corn and raises livestock. “If we had it, we could grow and take care of our animals. But we need help from the Ministry of Agriculture.”

“The water shortage is like a cancer for us,” said Adeclat. “We need technical assistance, equipment, and someone to clean the canals. If not, this zone will collapse.”

Kenold Dirogene, a delegate to the Hurigan Federation of Planters, said Grandmont’s struggle shows how Haiti’s rural zones are often left without a clear state policy towad sustainable agriculture to improve production capacity across the country.

“There’s no infrastructure. The canals are blocked. Agricultural inputs are missing. Tools and machinery don’t exist,” he said. “Even the electronic water system installed under President Préval — it was never maintained.”

Another initiative under President Jovenel Moïse added solar-powered pumps to irrigate some parts of the plain, but not enough to cover the whole area.

“If the state gave us real support, Grandmont could feed the entire Artibonite,” said Fils-Aimé, “But right now, we’re just trying to survive.”

In the Gonaïves municipal market, the crisis is already visible. Mamoune Joseph, a vegetable vendor, says produce from Grandmont is harder to come by.

“Eggplants, lalo — they’re drying up just like the other crops in the lands,” she said. “When the farmers can’t grow, we can’t sell. And the customers ask us every day and they complain every day.”

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