Haiti Adoption

Economy

Haiti 's economy has been shrinking since the early 1980s while the population has continued to grow. In the mid-1990s, Haiti 's per-capita gross domestic product was $370. This placed Haiti among the world's poorest nations. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the labor force; manufacturing, services, and tourism are the next largest employers. About 25 to 50 percent of the workforce is underemployed or unemployed. The international sanctions employed against Haiti 's military leaders from 1991 to 1994 further weakened the already crippled economy. Government revenue in the mid-1990s was about $300 million and spending was about $416 million. Haiti 's international deb t is approaching $1 billion.

Agriculture

Most of Haiti 's farmers work subsistence plots of land that produce small amounts of cash crops. Soil erosion and overworked land are major agricultural problems, while hurricanes and drought have also taken their toll. Coffee, sugarcane, sisal, and fruit are the major commercial crops, while beans, rice, corn, and sorghum are the main food crops. Coffee is the major agricultural export. Sugarcane, cotton, sisal, coconuts, and vetiver (a grass that yields oils used in the manufacture of perfume) are raised on plantations revitalized by loans from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Chickens are the most common livestock, but some cattle and goats are also raised. The country's pig population was decimated when African swine fever swept through Haiti in the early 1980s.