For the people of Haiti, a country that depends heavily on food imports, the combination of rapidly rising oil and food prices is making life extremely difficult. So difficult that, according to The Guardian, Haiti’s poor are forced to depend on buying hardened patties of clay and water to fill their stomachs. What’s worse, even these are not inflation-proof. In the Guardian article, a mud cake baker says she is struggling to keep costs down, since clay-rich mud needs to be trucked in from outside Port-Au-Prince.

The dire food situation spawned riots in Haiti in early April 2008, and there seems to be few signs of improvement. The government of Haiti is attempting to revive the agricultural sector in the country, a task that will be hindered by “scant resources, degraded soil and land ownership dispute,” according to The Guardian.

The challenges are steep, but a Haitian dairy cooperative called Let Agogo (Creole for “milk in abundance”) is serving as a model of agricultural possibility in this poverty-stricken nation.

In Haiti, milk is the second most imported food item, with 40 million Euro worth imported into the country each year. Rising import prices have made the cost of a gallon of milk as high as $9 – a prohibitive amount for the majority of Haiti's population, 54 percent of whom make less than $1 a day.

Let Agogo’s parent NGO, Veterimed, created a network of 13 micro-dairies and works with the dairy farmers to improve sustainability and productivity. Milk products from these dairies are then sold all over Haiti. This project not only provides Haitians with an affordable nutrient source, but it creates sorely-needed jobs as well.

At present, nearly 75 percent of food in Haiti is imported. While agricultural self-sufficiency might not be possible (or even reasonable), it could be beneficial for Haiti to combat the effects of unstable global food and oil prices by lessening their dependence on staple imports and creating a strong agricultural infrastructure. Let Agogo is one step towards that goal.

Around 22 percent of the Brazilian Amazon is owned by various Indian tribes. Photo: leoffreitas (flickr)

The fate of the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, hangs in the balance. In the coming weeks, Brazil’s Supreme Court will hear a case that will set a major precedent and shape the country's policy with respect to development in the Amazon and the rights of the forest's Indian tribes.

The case centers around the territory of Raposa Serra do Sol, which is located in the northeastern Brazilian state of Roraima. Raposa Serra do Sol is home to 18,000 Indians from the Macuxi, Ingarico, Patamona, Wapixana and Taurpeng tribes. In 2005, this territory was declared a reservation site for indigenous tribes.

The conflict has quickly escalated in this region as some Brazilians have refused to leave the area, claiming their right to develop the land. Specifically, some of the local rice farmers have resorted to violence in order to keep their farms. The situation is quickly deteriorating and the Supreme Court warns that the conflict could soon turn into a civil war. The court will soon decide if the government can legally continue to evict the rice farmers.

The rice farmers argue that it is not right for the government to evict people from their own land and to stop Brazilians from developing this rich area. About 12 percent of Brazil’s precious land has already been given to the various indigenous peoples. They argue that Brazilian land should be used for the betterment of Brazilians. Especially with the world food crisis, expanding Brazil’s agricultural sector into this region could greatly help the poor afford food and help the expand the local economy through much-needed jobs.

The tribes and their supporters, however, argue that their concerns outweigh the settlers’ economic reasoning. As the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon plays a major role in the environment. The forest is a climate regulator that affects rainfall in Brazil and Argentina and, some claim, even in Europe and North America. The preservation of its trees is pivotal in the fight against global warming. Already the cutting and burning of Amazonian trees account for about half of the world’s green-house gas emissions from deforestation. If Brazilians are allowed to develop this land, not only will they be kicking the Indians out of their ancestral homes, but they will also be severely hurting the already-precarious environment.