Haiti : food for development, PL-480 Title I and Title II, case study

480 food aid programs. The 10-year Title I program in Haiti and the transition to a new 3-year Title III program have taught several lessons. (1) USAID/H"s policy leverage has been strengthened by the indepth analyses, partially conducted by Haitian consultants, of policy changes to be included in the Title III program; by the Mission"s good understanding of the Government of Haiti"s (GOH) approach to policymaking; and by its new strategy of increasing Title I funding to reward good GOH self-help performance. (2) Factors which, on the other hand, have been detrimental to policy dialogue include (a) AID/W"s unwillingness to delegate authority to USAID/H during Title III negotiations and (b) USAID/H"s dependence on P.L. 480 local currency generations as GOH counterpart for its project portfolio. (3) The new Title III management structure is too complex for both USAID/H and the GOH, and the wisdom of requiring that the GOH create a special Title III management unit is dubious. (4) While the improved financial and project management and policymaking institutionalized under Title I may not carry over to Title III, USAID"s decision to let the GOH reform itself - rather than to force reforms where it does not have sufficient leverage to do so - was a wise one.