( CNN ) -- The Rev . Jesse Jackson says U.S policies are partially responsible for Haiti 's economic problems . In a CNN `` Newsroom '' interview with Ali Velshi , Jackson declared : `` Our agricultural policy ... allowed the Riceland Rice company to drop rice on Haiti , drive Haiti farmers out of business , and then raise the price of rice and have rice riots . '' Jackson 's comments echo a 2005 report by the international relief agency Oxfam International , which said U.S. policies hurt Haitian farmers and helped Arkansas-based Riceland Foods , the world 's largest miller and marketer of rice . `` Riceland 's profits jumped by $ 123 million from 2002 to 2003 , thanks in large part to a 50 percent increase in exports , primarily to Haiti and Cuba , '' the report said . CNN was unable to obtain any immediate response from Riceland Foods , which said publicly its sales to Haiti have declined over the years , but a CNN Fact Check suggests that U.S. policies have indeed played a role in Haiti 's problems . In a 2006 report , the Cato Institute , a nonprofit Washington-based research foundation , called rice `` one of the most heavily supported commodities in the United States , '' and argued that several countries including Haiti `` could all plausibly claim that the U.S. rice program has driven down global prices to the detriment of their citizens . '' `` Until the 1980s , '' the Washington Post recently reported , `` Haiti grew almost all the rice that it ate . But in 1986 , under pressure from foreign governments , including the United States , Haiti removed its tariff on imported rice . '' The subsidized U.S. rice was cheaper than Haitian rice , and soon , it became a staple of the Haitian diet . Many Haitian rice farmers were driven out of business , fleeing to the slums of Port-au-Prince . Later , the price of rice began to rise . It doubled in a little over a year , sparking food riots in Haiti in 2008 . At least six people died before President Rene Preval announced plans to subsidize rice .
In 2006 report , Cato Institute said rice is heavily supported commodity in U.S. Report : Countries including Haiti `` could all plausibly claim '' U.S. rice program harmful to citizens . " Comment: The US government has a lot of money and it's not going away anytime soon.