Building economic resilience

Non-traditional agriculture can play a key role in transforming Caribbean economies, spurring development, increasing food security, expanding export earnings, creating jobs and improving livelihoods.

 

This is according to Dr. Warren Smith, President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), as he observed that agriculture is the main employer in many Caribbean countries, accounting for approximately 16 per cent of overall employment in the region.

 

However, he told the recently held 46th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors that much of the non-traditional agriculture sector remains low value-adding, low-tech, low productivity, and inefficient.

 

“Recent studies have confirmed that a restructured and modernised agriculture can be a driver of economic growth in many Caribbean countries. These include Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, and Suriname, as well as some of the OECS countries. With the appropriate reorientation and investment, this sector can increase employment; earn foreign exchange through export expansion; and save foreign exchange by strengthening linkages between the domestic agricultural supply chains and dynamic sectors such as tourism and manufacturing,” he highlighted.

 

“But the tourism and export-focused manufacturing sectors compete internationally and require products that meet international standards. Domestic agriculture, therefore, will need to be transformed to be competitive with the rest of the world on price and on quality.”

 

The CDB President further acknowledged that for agriculture, transformation means having access to affordable, irrigable water, preferably pumped by renewable energy. He said its enabling infrastructure will include sustainably engineered feeder roads, appropriate packing and storage facilities and access to credit.

 

“This transformation will also see the adoption of modern technology to improve productivity. This new agriculture, if holistically transformed and integrated into the dynamic growth sectors, can be a component of a more diversified and resilient domestic economy.” (TL)