info 2day
4 agriculture 2morrow

a project of the InterAmerican Institute for
Cooperation on Agriculture
(IICA) & the Technical Centre
for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation (CTA)
ISSN 1991-2315 CarC/TT-03/10

Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

Small producer...

Small producers, i.e.,
both farmers and food
processors, are a big
business in agriculture in the
Caribbean. Their numbers
far outweigh their relatively
larger counterparts. Despite
the difficult conditions
under which they operate,
including marginal lands,
limited access to credit and
the virtual non-existence of
risk mitigation mechanisms,
the contributions of
these micro and small
entrepreneurs to economic
development, social stability
and food security are big
by comparison to their size.
The role of women, who
dominate small producer
agriculture and food
processing, is often not
fully appreciated.

...big
business!



a quick view of what’s inside AgriView
	
This AV focuses on a topic that has been of continuing
interest in the agriculture community and general public, that of
food security, from the farm to the policy level. The opening article
provides a synopsis of the recently initiated regional response to
ensure that “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic
access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” This
initiative, spearheaded by the CARICOM Secretariat with funding
from the Government of Italy and implementation support from
the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is complemented by a
number of other initiatives as indicated in the article on Advancing
Agriculture in CARICOM. The word ‘advancing’ is used repeatedly
throughout the newsletter because it is a key action word in the
theme selected for the 9th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA)
2010. This AV also highlights the CWA from its inception in 1999 and
promotes the 9th CWA to be held in Grenada in late October. So
mark your calendar.
	
The issue of Food Security is also an integral part of the
9th CWA’s theme and on that score, Ian Ivey feels certain that Food
prices will soar as he speaks to an AV contributor on the subject
of food prices and the capacity and competitiveness of local food
production. AV follows this perspective with two contributions on
the role and importance of small producers – farmers and fisherfolk

Tackling CARICOM’s Food Security Challenge
‘Advancing’ Agriculture in CARICOM
Food prices will Soar!
Women, the back bone of small farms
Artisanal Fisher-Folk contribute to Food Security

to food security, with a view to promoting the acceptance of small
producers as the ‘backbone of food security’. This view is, however
debatable, given the policy of the former Government of Trinidad and
Tobago to promote ‘mega farms’ as a major solution to rising food
prices and dependence on imported foods. AV contributor Waheeda
Abass provides some insights to the small vs mega farm issue from a
Trinidad perspective. While not enough time has elapsed to make a
judgement on the relative role and impact of mega farms in Trinidad,
there is a widely held view that the expectations have been over
stated.
	
AV also took this opportunity to update- for those involved
in the network, remind- for those who already knew of its existence
and introduce- for those who did not know it existed, the CaRAPN,
i.e., Caribbean Regional Agricultural Policy Network, which according
to one stakeholder at a 27-30 July Medium Term Strategy meeting,
“should contribute to agricultural development in a holistic way,
looking at the traditional production and marketing issues, but also
adding aspects of the environment, the social dimensions and the
global dimensions.”
	
We invite you to read, ponder and contact us for
clarification, more information and any contributions you may wish
to make on the topics covered or any other topic of interest to
agricultural and rural development in the region.

3

Food Security: Small vs Mega Farms a Trinidad Perspective

8

4

Advancing the agricultural policy networking process

11

5

Stakeholders’ opinions on networking via CaRAPN

13

6

The Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) in perspective

14

7

CWA 2010…mark your calendar!

16

On the cover:
Small farmer in Saint Lucia
rejoices at her latest harvest.
Photo courtesy: IICA Saint Lucia

Also inside:

“Networking is 2% technology and 98%
management of relationships.”
Creech/Willard (2001)
| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010



Tackling CARICOM’s Food Security Challenge
A regional response to ensure that all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient,
safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
CARICOM moves to formulate

policy, legislative, and institutional realignment actions, enhanced

regional policy for food and nutrition security by 2010

professional and technical capacity, improved processes, infrastructure

	

Earlier this year, the CARICOM Secretariat activated a

and client-service orientation, and public- private sector partnership

Technical Working Group (TWG) to formulate a Regional Policy for

arrangements. The draft policy is expected to be submitted for the

Food and Nutrition Security (RPFNS) for 2011 to 2050. The TWG

consideration of the Council for Trade and Economic Development

comprises representatives of Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana,

(COTED) when it meets in October 16-23 as part of the 9th Caribbean

Jamaica, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), University

Week of Agriculture (CWA) in Grenada. When completed, the RPFNS

of the West Indies (UWI), Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute

is expected to guide the design, implementation and monitoring of

(CFNI) and IICA, nominated by CARICOM Member States and serving

specific future periodic action programmes to address the major food

under the leadership and guidance of the Agricultural Development

and nutrition security challenges in the Caribbean.

Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat with assistance from the FAO and

IICA defines an institutional technical cooperation strategy

with funding from the Government of Italy.
	

The formulation of the RPFNS also responds to the mandates

to support member states efforts to enhance food security
	

The new administration of the Inter-American Institute for

of the Heads of Government in the Liliendaal Declaration (July 2009),

Cooperation on Agriculture is also in the process of defining an IICA

to develop an integrated, multi-sector and regional approach for

Strategy for Technical Cooperation in Food Security (FS), with a focus

the achievement of food and nutrition security. Among the several

on Small- and Medium-Scale Agriculture within which emphasis will

reasons for pursuing a regional approach is that which relates to

be placed on Technology, Markets, Policies and Institutions. However,

the issue of benefits from collective action. An early draft version

since the November 2001 Bavaro Agriculture Ministerial Meeting in the

of the proposed RPFNS explained that “consideration of paramount

Dominican Republic, Ministers of Agriculture mandated IICA to define

importance in support of a regional approach and policy for food and

clear actions towards food security, that included considerations of

nutrition security is that it will enable Member States to secure for their

an enabling institutional framework, elimination of trade barriers,

private and public sectors as well as for households and communities

increasing rural investment and reducing the technological gaps in

throughout the region, benefits and economic externalities that they

agriculture.

would be unable to access acting in isolation, and at a lower cost than

	

they would otherwise face.”

as a vehicle to implement mandates that the Heads of State and

	

The draft working document also makes explicit reference

Government entrusted to the Ministers of Agriculture at the Third

to the objectives of the Single Development Vision (SDV) and the

Summit of the Americas (Quebec 2001). It promotes food security

opportunities for increased domestic food production on a stable

as a key element in programmes for improving rural life, promoting

and sustainable basis by operating within the common economic

agribusiness and fostering comprehensive development. IICA’s

space and enabling environment created by the CARICOM Single

initiatives in this area were presented, evaluated and endorsed at

Market and Economy (CSME). This is the essence of the Economic

the Fifth Ministerial (Montego Bay, Jamaica, 26-29 October 2009).

Integration pillar, complemented by another important pillar

Further, the Ministers of Agriculture signed a plan entitled “Building

Functional Cooperation, which emphasizes the need for cooperative

capacity for enhancing food security and rural life in the Americas”

action, sharing services and undertaking joint activities to reduce

as a response to the mandate on agriculture, food security and rural

costs and achieve synergies in critical areas of domestic and foreign

life given by the Presidents of the hemisphere’s countries at the Fifth

policies. It is in the context of such functional cooperation, that the

Summit of the Americas (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 2009.

draft working document acknowledges that the RPFNS ‘provides

	

an opportunity to reassess and refocus Member States’ agricultural

three strategic areas, namely, (a) Institutional innovation related to

development policies, programmes and investments implemented at

R&D and technological change for food production and diversification,

the national and regional levels, by introducing the aspects of food

(b) Institutional framework to support implementation of FNS policies

access, safety, stability of supply, and nutritional security, health and

and integration of small farmers and family farms into value chains

well-being, viewed from the perspective of the consumer rather than

and markets; and (c) Monitoring and Information Dissemination for

that of the producer, as is normally the rule’.

more efficient and equitable policy and decision making. For the

	

Caribbean, these are areas of priority interest for continued and

The TWG emphasises the importance of recognising that

The AGRO 2003-2015 Plan was subsequently developed

Under its new FS Strategy, IICA plans to provide support in

food and nutrition security (FNS) is a cross-cutting issue and calls for

increased support from the new

a multi-disciplinary approach and measures that are a composite of

administration in IICA.

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010



‘Advancing” Agriculture in CARICOM
Ongoing Initiatives
Word power!
The Encarta web dictionary provides a few options for use of the word
‘advancing’ as an action or doing word, that can be applied to context
these various initiatives for agriculture in the Caribbean. These are: (a)
to ‘move ahead: to move, or move somebody or something, forward
in position’; (b) rise in status: to rise, or make or help somebody rise,
in rank or position; (c) bring something forward in time: to make
something happen earlier than originally expected; and (d) progress:
to further the progress or improvement of something.
	
For Caribbean countries, ‘advancing’ agriculture thus implies
that it needs to be moved ahead, beyond its current situation; that it
needs to be elevated in status, to receive equal treatment in national
and regional development agendas, public sector budgets and
private sector investment as does industry and services, particularly
tourism; that the expected albeit elusive returns and benefits from
at least three decades worth of donor and concessionary funding
for production expansion, diversification and product development,
now need to happen; and that there must be meaningful progress in
achieving its development targets, in improving livelihoods of those
engaged in agricultural businesses and general quality of life.

setting the stage
	
Interpreted in this manner, advancing agriculture in the
region embodies the goals and objectives of all the various ongoing
regional policy and strategic decisions and actions have been initiated
by CARICOM, as a region taken between 2004 and the first half of
2010 to ‘advance’ agriculture. Those currently being implemented
include the:
• CARICOM Agricultural Repositioning Initiative’s Key Binding
Constraints (KBCs) -Jagdeo Initiative- to alleviate the key binding
constraints to agriculture implemented through Constraint-specific
Technical Management Advisory Committees (TMACs) led by a
Minister of Agriculture and supported by relevant organisations
and professionals;
• OECS Agricultural Policy Framework and Plan, coordinated by the
OECS Secretariat and articulated with support from IICA has been
updated for enhanced implementation from 2003/2004. The recent
Draft New Treaty of the OECS (2010) articulates in paragraph 20.1
Protocol that ‘Member States agree to adopt the Agriculture Policy
endorsed by the Ministers of Agriculture and approved by the OECS
Authority’;
• Commodity Enterprise Development project funded under the
9th European Development Fund (EDF) led by the CARICOM
Secretariat, which seeks to develop a strategic framework for
agribusiness in CARICOM using the Value Chain Methodology;

Initiatives under consideration of Member States:
• Caribbean Regional Strategy for Agricultural Research and
Development (ARD) which emphasizes the need for a coordinated
approach to improving the delivery of agricultural research

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

and services to guide and direct the generation, adaptation
and application of knowledge and innovation for sustainable
agricultural development to benefit the Caribbean region;
• Regional Regulatory Framework for Biotechnology, Biosafety and
Bioterrorism, mandated by Ministers at the 13th Meeting of COTED
(May 2002) to devise a regional strategy and policy incorporating
a mechanism, if necessary, for addressing the issues related to
Genetically Modified Products.
• Common Fisheries Policy and Regime and Implementing Agency,
mandated by Heads in 2003, for the conservation, management,
sustainable utilization and development of fisheries resources
and related ecosystems and promotion of competitive trade for
present and future social and economic benefits.

Initiatives being formulated:
• Strategic Plan for Regional Development (SPRD), mandated
by Heads at their 28th Conference to elaborate the specific
implementation policies and measures in accordance with the
Single Development Vision, with focus on five sectoral economic
drivers and the provision of ‘Regional Public Goods’ to facilitate
regional production integration, development and economic
transformation;
• Regional Strategic Framework for Agri-tourism Development.
Since 2004, there have been initiatives aimed at strengthening
the regional policy and institutional framework for agri-tourism
development;
• Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security (RPFNS) in CARICOM
for the 2011 to 2050 period to guide the design, implementation
and monitoring of specific future periodic action programmes to
address the major food and nutrition security challenges in the
Caribbean;
• CARICOM Community Agriculture Policy (CCAP) under an EUfunded project, launched in late 2009, to formulate the CCAP and
its Implementation Plan, and assist Member States in agricultural
policy formulation, planning, implementation and monitoring, of
national policy processes;
• Regional Strategy for the Management of the Invasive Alien Species
(IAS) Threat in the Caribbean, which started through a 2003 action
group and evolved in 2004 into the Caribbean Invasive Species
Working Group (CISWG) to focus on the prevention of introduction
of IAS, particularly in the agriculture and trade sector;
• Pre-feasibility study on the Establishment of a CARICOM Agriculture
Modernisation Fund (CAMF) to determine the need, likely support
for, and key issues to be addressed in the establishment of a
CAMF.
These policy and strategic regional frameworks complement each
other and are expected to create the conditions conducive to
competitive and sustainable agriculture and rural development in the
Region.



Food prices will Soar!
By Waheeda Abass; Photos: Tyrone Chang
..locally produced food is high cost

corn in T&T are all 90 to 100 per cent more expensive than in a highly

because of antiquated, low-tech and

developed country such as New Zealand, even through the former

small scale production

two products are imported from far off countries such as Ecuador

Ian Ivey, an international business

and the Philippines.

consultant and principal of Next

The cheapest food is produced in certain countries

Corporation-a firm which provides

around the world. Not in the Caribbean!

strategic planning initiatives for

	

the public and private sector said

food security, focusing on encouraging greater home production is

the key to food security is value

the answer. “But if the costs of production are higher than those

propositions. Ivey said changing

for imported food, how does that help the poorer members in the

trading relationships and a failure to

region’s countries’ improve their economic and social status?” He

modernise the sector has now lead

said while cheaper food is produced on big farms, the mega farms

to a situation where the majority of

in T&T are not internationally competitive. “The reason why we are

Caribbean nations are major importers of food “but locally produced

getting cheap food from the small farms is one relative term, but it’s

food is high cost because of the antiquated, low-tech and small scale

still 100 per cent more expensive.” He stressed that there is more

production approach the sector still uses today.”

than one way of dealing with food security. “It all comes down to

	

Ivey said while there is a great deal of talk about national

young farmers will be wooed by a modern operation

valued propositions. You have to understand the most appropriate

that generates an optimum amount of returns

value propositions for small and big farms.” In the next year, Ivey

Ivey who has had senior management roles in horticulture

predicted, higher food prices, stating that the signs are already

and corporate investment said one of the problems in small farms was

there.

that it was not attracting young people. Most of the farmers today

	

were over 60 years. “Young people will not work in the hot sun today

the world. Not in the Caribbean. If you look at agriculture on the global

unless they get the same salary as in the oil industry.” Ivey said to

scene and where the Caribbean fits in we have a lot of things we can

woo young farmers, a modern operation that generates an optimum

get value out of, which can lift the return per acre.” The challenge

amount of returns must be established. “You need equipment that

for agriculture in the Caribbean, Ivey said, is to find the right spaces

takes away a lot of the hard work, modern agricultural enterprises use

where the sector can thrive rather than trying to be everything for

a systems approach which maximises efficiency and market relevance

everyone and not doing anything particularly well. “If you look at

in every area and provides a largely enjoyable working environment.

any commercial agricultural business, it produces a range of narrow

It is the only way agriculture can be viable.” Another troubling issue

things.”

was that farmers were not getting their share of value for crops. Ivey

	

said he knows of farmers in St Vincent who make US $150,000 with

region who are making good money out of agriculture. But most are

five acres of land by growing high end fruits and vegetables.

exporting to markets outside the region, focusing on special niches,

	

“If the farm was growing dasheen he would have only made

or have become highly specialised. “It is all a matter of doing the right

US $20,000. We have to look at opportunities for small farmers.” To

things, not doing things just because that’s the way they have always

illustrate the challenge, Ivey said, the cost of bananas, pineapples and

been done.”

“The cheapest food is produced in certain countries around

Ivey said he studied a number of entrepreneurs in the

Projections about Food Prices and Food Security
“U.S. food prices will rise a stiff 9 percent a year through 2012, the largest increase since 1979 and the result of record-high crop prices, the head
of an economic consulting company said on Thursday. The projections by Bill Lapp of Advanced Economic Solutions are higher than the latest
U.S. Agriculture Department forecast of 5 percent for this year. USDA and Lapp have increased their estimates by 1.5 percentage points since
February”
(Reuters) By Charles Abbott Washington | Thu May 29, 2008 9:33pm EDT
“..up to 25% of the world’s food production may become lost due to environmental breakdown by 2050 unless action is taken. ., climate change,
water stress, invasive pests and land degradation may impact world food security, food prices and life on the planet and how we may be able
to feed the world in a more sustainable manner,.., we need to get smart and more creative about recycling food wastes and fish discards into
animal feed. While major efforts have gone into increasing efficiency in the traditional energy sector, food energy efficiency has received too
little attention”
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA) The Environmental Food Crisis - The Environment’s Role in Averting Future Food Crises, 2009

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010



Women, the back bone of small farms
Waheeda Abass; Photos: Tyrone Chang
“Supporting small farmers would not only enhance food security

Ramlogan’s 29-year-old son, Amar is an economic analyst at Republic

but would make a significant dent in poverty. It seems as

Bank, while her only daughter Anita, 24, is into marketing. Her biggest

though we are being left out of the equation.”

worry is moving out of Aranquez after learning that Government was
eyeing her land to build the billion dollar Rapid Rail project.
	

If the authorities, Ramlogan said, were truly concerned

about food security then they would have preserved and promoted
small family farms. Ramlogan noted that recent price volatility on
international markets was putting pressure on global food security,
which we were still unprepared for. “The increased food requirements
of a growing world population will escalate. The question of who
produces this food is critically important.” She argued that the root
of the food security crisis goes back for years when investment in
agriculture started to decline because of the growing perception that
agriculture was not profitable.
Shaliza Ramlogan stands proudly in the middle of her
cauliflower field in Aranguez.

Shaliza Ramlogan, one of several small farmers in Aranquez believes
that women have been the backbone in the agriculture sector for
years. Farming on three acres of land in the country’s food basket,
Ramlogan, 50, said female farmers have shown that they can
contribute to the country’s economic growth and help feed the nation.
“Women are good at managing labour which is self-supervising in
effort and diligence. They make better stewards of natural resources,
conserving biodiversity and safeguarding the future sustainability
of agricultural production.” Ramlogan said there were a number of
issues preventing small farms from moving forward, among them
high seed prices and inputs, lack of agricultural access roads, subsides
and irrigation on farms. Also praedial larceny often crippled them and
the Government was yet to develop a national land use policy for the
farming population.

Getting Agriculture Moving
Just over four decades ago, Arthur T. Mosher, in his 1966 writings
on “Getting Agriculture Moving – Essentials for Development
and Modernization” argued that ‘getting agriculture moving’
boils down to a simple concept, that agricultural production and
marketing decisions are made independently by several different
individual entrepreneurs. In this context, the experience of Japan
is instructive, an experience seen as representing a more valid
model for many developing economies in the Caribbean.
The history of Japanese agricultural development illustrates
how the agricultural sector of the economy was able to fulfil
its traditional role in the strategy of overall development.
Japanese agriculture, in the course of its transformation,
was able to earn foreign exchange, to provide savings and
investment for a developing urban industrial sector, and
to supply raw materials and foodstuffs for the rest of the
economy. Most significant of all, is that this was achieved
within a system of small scale, labour intensive farming made
possible by placing greater emphasis upon the “biological
revolution” than upon the “mechanical revolution”,
underpinned by adoption in 1887 of a new agricultural
policy that shifted emphasis away from introducing western
farming methods to bolstering traditional farming methods.
Source: Agriculture and Economic Development’, (2002) Jules Janick,
Reading in Tropical Horticulture, Purdue University

Small farmers Shaliza Ramlogan and her husband know what
hard work is all about.

	

The sole bread winner in her family, Ramlogan said micro

farming has educated her three children and paid for her husband’s
medical bills. Unable to see in one eye and having undergone several
heart operations, Ramlogan’s husband, Deoraj, is her pillar of strength.

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

Given that farming in Caribbean countries is dominated by
small farmers, this demands that the role of the small producer
– farmers, fisherfolk and processors- be revisited and redefined
with a view to creating incentives to produce and ensuring that
they contribute effectively to agriculture and hence economic
development in the region.



Artisanal Fisher-Folk contribute to Food Security
Brent Theophile, MPhil Agricultural Economics Candidate, UWI, St. Augustine
seafood protein ...the ‘better’ animal-based protein.

fisheries, characterized by a combination of multiple target species,

The total land area of the Caribbean States is 484,716

vessel-types, gear, and fishing location at a given time of the year.

km2 whereas the total area of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

This implies that for any given fishing trip, more than one gear type

is 2,205,470 km - approximately 82 percent of the area is maritime

may be employed at one or more fishing locations where catch is not

space. The vast ocean resources of the region estimated at 80 times

limited to any one particular species and different vessel types or

the land resources represents major resources for addressing food

modes of transport are used.

	

2

A notable feature of the industry is a relatively high

security.

proportion of female workers at value-adding stations

	
	

It is the major source of seafood protein for the population,

generally promoted as the ‘better’ animal-based protein. The

	

Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) recommends that food

food source, labour pool, income earner and weather stabilizer, is

from animals (meat, eggs and dairy products, fish) should comprise

unquestionable! The sector contributes to the strengthening of the

about 8% of the daily diet. Fish supply all eight of the essential amino

food security status of most countries, directly through inputs to

acids. It is also of high biological value and regular consumption of

the food supply and employment, and indirectly through earnings

fish is attributed to mitigating cancer, cardiovascular disease, as well

from export and tourism associated activities. A notable feature

as providing omega 3 fatty acids. In addition to these benefits, fish

of the industry is its high proportion of female workers who are

also supplies vitamin A and D, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium,

engaged in key aspects of seafood operations including but not

and iodine in the case of marine fish which helps prevent goitre.

limited to processing, distribution and retailing in the local market.

	

Development at these stages of the value chain is important to

The vast ocean resources also provide an acceptable food

The potential benefits of fisheries to the Region as a

source and livelihood for more than 130,000 persons, earning over

maintaining the supply and distribution of seafood

USD 150 million per year from exports, saving the region at least

	

three times as much in foreign exchange, as volume of production

as is the situation with crop agriculture, the need to enhance the

is four times the volume of export. Easy access to the sea makes

effective contribution of fisheries to the emerging opportunities in

fishing a relatively low-cost income-earning option for small-scale

food and nutrition security, in a sustainable manner, is critical. In this

and resource-limited producers -artisanal fishers- who represent the

regard, positioning fisheries and more specifically, artisanal fishers to

most significant proportion of the fishing fleet. The term artisanal

contribute to food security should be defined based on the state of

fishery describes an operation which is generally labour-intensive

food security and the unique nature of the fishing community and

and relies upon relatively small crafts (or none at all). There is usually

country’s resource endowment. For example, fishing as an activity

little capital and equipment per person on board, with relatively low

contributing to food supply may be more prominent for persons in

level technology being employed. Short fishing trips (a few miles off

impoverished countries and communities, with limited resources

shore and usually within daylight hours) are the norm. They are also

and/or few or no alternative options, or avenues for trade, whereas

commonly referred to multi-species multi-fleet fisheries or mixed

for another, fishing might contribute best by providing higher earning

Photos: Fisheries Division Dominica, 2009
 CTA, 2007. ACP Fisheries Policy Brief, Safeguarding the ACP Fisheries Resources –
Role of Science, Technology & Innovation. Policy Brief No 4/2008, ISSN: 1876-0953. by:
Sloans Chimatiro, Milton Haughton, Mariama Barry, Martha Byanyima, Augustine
Mobiha, Francis Nunoo, edited by J.A. Francis.
 http://www.medindia.net/Patients/patientinfo/fishfood_health.htm
 CRFM Strategic Plan

Given the predominance of small-scale/artisanal operations

options in extra-national markets because it is posed to gain more
from trade.
 Pelletier, D., and Ferraris, J. 2000. A Multivariate Approach for Defining Fishing
Tactics from Commercial Catch and Effort Data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Science. Issue 57. pp 51 – 65.
 http://www.sfp-acp.eu/FR/Download/2006/TdR_36-03-06-CAR.pdf

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010



Food Security. Small vs Mega Farms -Waheeda Abass;

Noel Garcia
Past Chairman of
NAMDEVCO

Small farms have a

ago. Having visited Government’s

crucial role to play, the

200 acre Tucker Valley Mega Farm

same way large

(TVMF) in Chaguaramas late last year,

enterprises do.

Ramnarine said he observed there was

For years the issue of food security

a lack of integrated farming system,

has reared its ugly head. While many

where the empty spaces between

believe that Government mega farms

crops were occupied for higher yields

are the solutions to helping Trinidad

undertaken by farmers. The TVMF

and Tobago reach food sovereignty,

and PCS Nitrogen in Couva are the

others think that the future of food

most advanced in technology.

lies in the hands of small farms, which

	

are worth preserving and protecting.
Noel Garcia who previously chaired
three State agencies, the Agricultural

Anil Ramnarine
President, Cunupia Farmers
Association

The land, he said, was sparse

and looked unproductive. “It was a far
cry from what I expected. I have seen
them produce crops that were of poor

Development Bank (ADB), the Estate Management Business (EMBDC)

quality.” Ramnarine said the only area that the Tucker Valley mega

Development Corporation and the National Agricultural Marketing

farm had excelled in, were their green houses. In Cunupia, Ramnarine

and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO) at a recent function

boasted that his farmers produce far more per acre because of his

stated that food security, which is making food accessible for all

inter-cropping system, utilising every square inch of land. With

revolves around both small and large farms.

agriculture being a global priority, Ramnarine said small farmers have

	

Garcia believes that the country ought to have an overall

been finding themselves in the front-line of the world’s most pressing

strategy with both micro and macro farms in terms of production to

issues among them globalization, climate change, high food prices,

avoid under or over production in crops. “We have to sit down and

the global economic downturn, and food security. “We have seen that

work out the mechanisms as to who produces what.” Garcia said while

mega farms have not been successful due to the cost of production,

farms have been having quite a lot of production in sweet potatoes

poor yields and lack of expertise,” Ramnarine stated. The large farms,

and cassava, T&T experienced a shortfall in some vegetables. “What

Ramnarine said, focused primarily on bringing technology to the

we really need to do is carefully plan a production strategy.” The large

farms. “Their cost of production is irrelevant. What is relevant to them

farms, Garcia said, are geared towards food processing, while the role

is that they are technology driven.”

of the small farms is to satisfy the local markets with vegetables and
root crops. The small farms, Garcia said, have a crucial role to play, the
same way large enterprises do.
	

However, former Agriculture Minister Arnold Piggott, in

2008, stated that large farm programme was pivotal to stimulating a
significant expansion in local food production, contributing to the
attainment of our goal of food and nutrition security and containing
food price inflation. He stressed that “Government policy envisages
large farms would co-exist with small farms in a symbiotic relationship.”
Piggott said Government was spending $98 million on commercial
farms.
small farms were far more productive and efficient today than
sprawling farms
	

President of the Cunupia Farmers Association, Anil

Ramnarine, begged to disagree that large farms are the way forward in
obtaining food security. He said small farms were far more productive
and efficient today than sprawling farms. History, Ramnarine said,
has shown that Caroni 1970 Ltd, the country’s largest mega farm
had turned out to be a failure, resulting in its closure a few years

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

Scenes from Tucker Valley Mega Farm, Chaguaramas



a Trinidad Perspective
Photos: Tyrone Chang
Progress at what cost?

Mega farms lack practical aspect of agriculture
	

Wallerfield farmer Selwyn Ramsaroop expressed similar

views to Ramnarine, stating that the mega farms have been virtually
unproductive and a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. Ramsaroop,
who cultivates over 25 acres of land in East Trinidad said operations at
the mega farms have shown that those who are managing are versed
in theoretical knowledge, but lacked the practical aspect of farming
which is key to a bountiful and healthy harvest. “Small farming
systems are diverse, incorporating and preserving significant functional
bio diversity within the farm,” Ramsaroop pointed out. He observed
A lush and healthy vegetable crop on Anil Ramnarine’s ‘small’ farm

that those working at mega farms needed hands on training in all
aspects of agriculture. He firmly believed that the TVMF idea cannot

	

Against a backdrop of rows of lush vegetables, Ramnarine’s

foster a food security plan because of inadequate operational skills.

method of planting is in inter-cropping, dabbling in new ideas and

“To me, it’s better to micro manage a small parcel of land than look

techniques to get high production, the best results and cheaper food

after a large acreage half-heartedly. Besides, when you have to work for

for citizens. So much so, Ramnarine won the vegetable and food crop

a salary you would seek after your interest as oppose to a farm that is

categories and even captured the Young Agricultural Entrepreneur

fully mechanised.” Ramsaroop noted that if Government had offered

Award at the National Agricultural Entrepreneur Awards ceremony

the mega farms to a group of productive small farmers, this country

last October. He attributed several agricultural agencies such as

would have already obtained food security.

Ministry of Agriculture, the ADB, CARDI and IICA for his resounding
success.
	

Approximately 1500 small farmers cultivate lands in Cunupia

with at least 6000 people in the rural community depending on the
sector to survive. A few weeks ago, the association was thrown
into a state of panic on learning that Government had intended to
use their arable lands for the Rapid Rail project. Unsure of what the
future holds, Ramnarine stated that farmers all over the country were
being displaced to make way for housing, commerce, industries and
infrastructure, which can run into social problems.
Small farmers are unsure of their next move

One of several types of pumpkin under cultivation in Ramsaroop’s farm

“I am not against progress but at what cost? Just now we will have
money but no food to buy.” The same environment the Government

	

wanted to create for the mega farms, Ramnarine said, this should

Business Association (TTABA), however, stated both large and small

Balancing both Vassel Stewart CEO of the Trinidad Agri-

be done for the small farmers. “They will reap 100 times more the

farms have a key role to play in seeking food security. “One type of

benefits.” Ramnarine said small farmers should come together to

farming system is not going to be adequate in obtaining food security.

pursue large farms, “But there is always a divide and rule situation.”

I would not say that food security lies in the hand of small farmers

Another setback was that the agriculture sector was not stimulated.

because there are areas of national production that the larger farms

“A nation without sufficient agricultural resource is more vulnerable

will be needed for, in terms of efficiency and also to be competitive. You

than a nation without sufficient energy resources. The long run

have to balance both.” Stewart said the country’s international trade

security of any nation depends on its willingness and ability to ensure

agreements don’t allow us to keep out imports.

sustainability of its food and farming systems,” Ramnarine pointed

	

out. Ramnarine also said that while farmers have a vested interest in

“If you don’t become competitive, imports will eventually displace local

their livelihood, they were unsure of their next move. “The farming

production. For the vegetables and so on, these are the things the small

styles at Tucker Valley are totally different from the small farms.” He

farmers can produce and can do so efficiently and in small acreage,

explained that small farmers utilise a broad array of resources and

especially where it requires high labour inputs.” He said T&T has to

have a vested interest in their sustainability.

mechanise, the way other developing countries are doing.

At least 80 per cent of T&T’s food import bill is still imported.

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

10
On February 5, 2010 Secretary General of the United Nations Ban

imports crossing $1 billion annually, Deonarine said, our country must

Ki-Moon said that small farmers and rural producers have a vital

become self sufficient rather than accessing food from the outside.

role to play in overcoming global hunger and poverty at a time

	

when more than one billion people suffer from hunger, the

are more productive and look after their fields better when they

highest in human history.

work as a unit. “We are not talking about the yields of large scale

Deonarine said studies have shown that small farms

monocultures, but a diversity of crops. Small farmers do innovate,

Norris Deonarine
National Food Crop Farmers’
Association

T&T must become self sufficient

invest and conserve, given the right conditions.”

Norris Deonarine education and

	

research officer of the National Food

Deonarine said while micro farms face diseconomies of scale when

Crop Farmers’ Association (NFFA),

dealing with the outside world, accessing credit and inputs, getting

argued that “small farmers have

technical assistance and information on markets and in selling

been successful for decades and will

produce are sometimes challenging. In spite of labouring in the

continue to chart a new way forward.

fields, Deonarine said, one major setback was that farmers do not

All their techniques and methods were

have bargaining power and holding capacity “and are therefore

handed down from their forefathers,

compelled to do distress sale which sometimes lead to exploitation

which is why they flourish today. “To

by traders and middle men.” Another issue that has been hampering

me, the mega farms have not been

farmers was trade liberalization, which is supposed to increase food

driving food prices down. Probably

production, efficiency and production and improve the economic

they don’t have the know-how and

situation of farmers and patterns of food consumption.

required techniques.” With

The NFFA represents close to 19,000 small farmers.

food

History of Mega Farms
Established under a technical co-operation agreement between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba, the TVMF is expected
to turn out some 4,000 tonnes of agricultural produce annually. Cuba was selected because of its tremendous success in establishing
and operating of similar projects and whose technical know-how was of great importance. The farm uses a combination of grow box
technologies, greenhouse, conventional and semi-protected technology using organic matter as the main fertiliser. The TVMF, which
focuses on integrated farming is one of 15 large scale farms. Government intended to set up to significantly reduce food prices and increase
food production, with the contribution of private sector farmers. Among the mega farms that were granted licences last January by the
Government to operate are Two Brothers Corporation, Supermix Feeds Caribbean, Chemical Limited and Technology Farms Limited. PCS
Nitrogen spanning 75 acres was formally opened last year. A considerable degree of planning went into the setting up of these farms,
including decisions on which crops were best suited for individual farms and the training of personnel.
	

That this was necessary, including the selection of Tucker Valley, is an indication that with the right mixes of technical expertise

and commitment that all of the State mega farms can be productive. Mega farms with lands provided by the State are proposed to be
located at Jerningham (108 acres for vegetable crops); Edinburgh (354 acres for vegetable crops); Orange Grove (100 acres for vegetable
crops); Caroni (100 acres for root crops and rice); La Gloria (364 acres for mixed farming and livestock); Mon Jaloux (417 acres for integrated
farming, livestock and aquaculture); Picton Estate (1,201 acres for livestock, tree crops and root crops.) The investors were responsible for
all infrastructural works such as roads, irrigation and other works. Government expected the firms to operate at a high level of efficiency,
producing output at a consistently high quality and at an affordable price to consumers.

Workers tending rows of vegetables at Tucker Valley Mega Farm (l); Pumpkin field in ‘small’ farm of Selwyn Ramsaroop (r)

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

11

Advancing Agriculture in Regional Integration
experiences from Africa
make agriculture

‘Africa-owned, Africa-led initiative

the lever of regional integration

working to boost agriculture productivity’

	

	

The ‘new international context created by rising prices

A similar process is being managed in the Common

represents a historic opportunity to re-establish the bases of agricultural

Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)7, where in

development in the region, that can only be taken forward through

2000 agriculture was recognised as the mainstay and key driver of

a regional approach that allows the various countries concerned to

economic growth, food and nutrition security and poverty alleviation

rise above their differing short-term interests’. This was among the

in Africa. In 2003, African Heads of State and Government ratified the

several reasons justifying the need for a Regional Agricultural Policy

Mobutu Declaration and committed to effecting policy changes that

for West Africa: ECOWAS. The tag line on the cover of the document

will improve agricultural and rural development in Africa, including

says it all- “make agriculture the lever of regional integration”. The

African Governments’ commitments in the allocation of at least 10% of

Regional Agricultural Policy adopted by ECOWAS sets out a vision

national budgetary resources for agriculture and rural development.

of “a modern and sustainable agriculture based on effective and

	

efficient family farms and the promotion of agricultural enterprises

are spearheading a regional approach to expanding opportunities

through the involvement of the private sector. Once productivity and

for agricultural production, enhancing food security and increasing

competitiveness on the intra-community and international markets

trade and market access through research, value addition and trade

are achieved, the policy should be able to guarantee food security

facilitation. This is to be achieved through the Comprehensive Africa

and secure decent incomes for agricultural workers”.

Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The COMESA region

6

Ministers of Agriculture of the 19 member States of COMESA

is aggressively pursuing the CAADP agenda as a holistic framework
for agricultural-led growth and development in Africa.
	

CAADP’s work falls under 4 pillars, each dealing with

key issues. Pillar 1: Sustainable Land & water management; Pillar
2: Strengthening Trade Capacity and Market access; Pillar 3: Food
and nutrition security;
Pillar

4:

research.
regional

Agricultural
The

CAADP

compact

will

concentrate on strategic
regional
...ECOWAS describes agriculture as having ‘major constraints ... but a
highly adaptable sector.

investments

that individual countries,
acting

alone,

cannot

achieve, but which serve
to accelerate individual
agricultural

Sustainable Land and Water
Management

The CAADP Pillar I Framework

Among the other reasons for the regional agriculture policy are the

country

fact that West Africa is in the process of ‘building a space where people

growth by enabling them

and goods can circulate freely, and is developing a single foreign trade

to benefit from regional

policy through the common external tariff (CET)’, with recognition

spillovers and economies

and acknowledgement that ‘certain problems can be addressed more

of scale in technology

effectively at the regional level than by individual governments – such

development, trade and

as regulating supply and demand for agricultural produce by opening up

investment. The CAADP

markets (developing market infrastructures, managing supply chains

is

on a regional basis, etc.), and formulating an effective cross-border

its treatment of its four pillars, including well defined strategies to

trade policy to promote the agricultural sector’.

streamline and strengthen current regional programmes.

6 Economic Community of West African States, 17/12/2008, document produced
for the Paris conference on the Regional Agricultural Policy for West Africa, held
on 9th December 2008, http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/01_ANG-ComCEDEAO.pdf).

7 COMESA Regional CAADP Compact, Draft Version 19 April 2010, circulated for
stakeholders’ inputs and comments by FANRAPN Regional Secretariat.

comprehensive

“Tool” for use by Countries in Mainstreaming and
Upscaling of Sustainable Land and Water Management in
Africa’s Agriculture and Rural Development Agenda
September 2009

i

in

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

12

Networking Agricultural Policy in the Region
Advancing the CaRAPN Network
Strong policy is a prerequisite for sustainable

departments, non-governmental organisations, groups of

agriculture development, including the resolution

individuals, or individuals engaged in community activities.

of agricultural-induced crises.

The latter category is becoming appreciably more important.

The right policy mix, based on balancing economic, social

Increasingly also, is the growing number of individuals with

and ecological imperatives, is as, or even more critical to the success/

information and expertise, who could potentially be important

failure of the sector than is technology. Getting the right policy mix

resource persons but are either not linked to any established

is not static. It will depend on the conditioning environment and the

organisation or network system or reluctant to ‘join’ formal

	

particular circumstances of the countries, singly and as a region in

associations and institutions.

a given period. Full engagement and involvement of stakeholders,

	

whether they are public or private sector institutions, non-

in the Caribbean offers real opportunities for and tangible benefits

The current agricultural and rural development environment

governmental organizations or individuals is essential to an equitable

from policy networking. The information and experiences from other

and effective policy process.

developing regions of the world show that the wheel need not be
reinvented and lessons can be learned from similar and successful
agricultural policy networks, such as the Pacific Agricultural and
Forestry Policy Network ( PAFPNet) which makes a clear statement
on its website that “effective policies rely on good information.
Policy makers from the region identified weak communication,
poor engagement of stakeholders, and lack of timely information as
constraints to the development of effective Pacific agricultural and
forestry policies and the enforcement and implementation of existing
ones. A robust regional information exchange was identified as a
valuable tool to strengthen communication in the area of agricultural

Participants at the recently held CaRAPN meeting

	

and forestry policy.”

In the region, the CARICOM Secretariat is tasked with the

mandate for policy leadership and guidance, in partnership with

CaRAPN is positioning itself to be the ‘grand central

Community Institutions and groups, toward the attainment of a

station’ for agricultural policy networking in the

viable, internationally competitive and sustainable Community, with

Caribbean

improved quality of life for all. CARICOM is currently leading a number

	

The Caribbean Regional Agricultural Policy Network

of regional policy frameworks aimed at creating the conditions for

(CaRAPN) is a platform and an opportunity established in 2003, for

the emergence of an internationally competitive and sustainable

stakeholders in the agricultural community in CARICOM/ CARIFORUM

agribusiness and rural area.

to freely network, generate and share a range of information
products, expertise and communicate in order to improve awareness

Networking in agriculture is expanding!

of and participation in the agricultural policy process at national and

Informal networking has taken on sense of purpose and

regional levels. CaRAPN met recently with stakeholders of varying

has incorporated elements of the formal networking sector into their

representations and interest in the agriculture community in the

operations, as seen in the several small groups that are ‘organising’

region to define its focus for the Medium Term Strategy 2011-2015

for the purposes of accessing their required grant funding and

that will give effect to its Vision to serve as the premier regional

technical assistance needs. Promoting networking in agriculture

agricultural policy network that strengthens the agricultural and

must be understood from two perspectives, networking related to:

rural development policy process by building capacity, fostering

1.

content, i.e., information exchange for effective decision

strategic partnerships and creating a platform for advocacy, sharing

making, whether it is through face-to-face dialogue, or sharing of

knowledge, experiences and expertise. In fulfilling its vision, CaRAPN

documentation;

will operate within the policy frameworks and processes led by the

	

2. resource sharing, i.e., the active sharing or exchange of expertise

CARICOM Secretariat, with the positions and interests advocated

within the region for problem solving and policy implementation

by the private sector, and for the benefits of the general public and

3. The new networking must also foster the integration of

ordinary citizens who are often called upon to support activities that

non-traditional actors, whether they are other government

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

promote agriculture and rural wellbeing.

13

Stakeholders’ opinions on networking via CaRAPN
	

Since it started as a CTA-IICA project in 2003, the Caribbean Regional Agricultural Policy Network (CaRAPN) has been building a

platform for information dissemination and dialogue through generating products such as the AgriView newsletter, In a Nutshell and a number
of other publications and promoting and facilitating connections and communication among policy-makers, youth, agri-preneurs (small farmers
and processors), University agribusiness students, scientists, journalists and other media in an effort to open up the playing field and involve a
wider cross-section of stakeholders in the policy dialogue process. The 2004 Jagdeo Initiative was initiated and supported under the CaRAPN
project. CaRAPN is also continuously upgrading a website that aims to become the premier agricultural web-based information resource
and dialogue platform in the Caribbean. But one outstanding area needed to be developed –networking, which explains the general lack of
awareness in the regional agriculture community about CaRAPN as a network. Here are some comments from stakeholders who participated
in a recent meeting (27-30 July, 2010) to develop a 2011-2015 Medium Term Strategic Plan to move CaRAPN from project to a sustainable
network. Stakeholders will be notified by mid-September of availability of the full report of the meeting as well as the CaRAPN medium Term
Strategy 2011-2015 on www.carapn.net.
Barton Clarke Ministry of Agriculture, Barbados:
“A sustainable CaRAPN means that we will have to receive benefits from CaRAPN; as basic as that. So CaRAPN has to be a mechanism
that contributes to agricultural development. And we want it to contribute to agricultural development in a holistic way, looking
at the traditional production and marketing issues, but also adding aspects of the environment, the social dimensions and the
global dimensions. CaRAPN has an important role to deal with commonality of purpose; deal with commonality of vision in order to
provide value to in particular to member states, individuals and organisations for the benefit of all of us.”

Neil Gomez, Farmer/Producer, Antigua & Barbuda and member, Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN)
“Farmers can benefit from such a network providing that the network realises and appreciates what farmers need. I believe that it
can help, it can help to the degree that that we have an input, we have a say, we have knowledge. Because if it is policy, it should be
straight across the board, the playing field should be level, it should be accessible it should be all this which CaRAPN says it’s going
to do. But I think time will tell.”

Kimberly Thomas: Agricultural Policy Planner,

Onika Campbell: Communications Consultant,

Grenada: “A tremendous opportunity for networking

Ministry of Agriculture, Antigua & Barbuda: “We

was presented whilst the decision to institutionalize

are the network! From this meeting, the mission and

CaRAPN holds prospects for great success in the near

vision for CaRAPN has been revived; we are moving

future to the benefit of agricultural planners and the

forward with a new vision and mission; moving

region’s agricultural sector.”

towards the CSME single development vision.”

Jedidiah Maxime: Agricultural Policy Planner, Antigua & Barbuda:
“I think that the idea of CaRAPN – the policy networking mechanism is a very good one, of course I think that one of the
shortcomings of policy formulation both at the national and regional level, is that the involvement of stakeholders have always
proven to be a shortcoming and as such I believe that this level of networking among all stakeholders with regards to the issue of
policy will bring to the table the various concerns and issues which need to be discussed in order to properly address policy in the
Caribbean. So I think it is a vital mechanism; I think it is long overdue and I hope that the participation in the networking will be one
which will definitely have an impact in changing agriculture in the Caribbean.”

Keith Amiel, Caribbean Agribusiness Association (CABA):
“CaRAPN is extremely important; we are countries separated by water and long distances, therefore we need to have an efficient
communication network that communicates by all the means available. What our physical isolation make difficult for us to achieve,
we look forward to CaRAPN filling the gaps to perhaps recognise that what we are trying to do has been done already and therefore
we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. CaRAPN has a tremendous role to play in bringing everything forward in an objective manner
to show how we relate to each other, where the shortcomings are, where the successes are, where the failures are, where the
needs for development are so that we can bring our thought process on it so that we can access funding.”

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

14

Promoting Greater Caribbean Competitiveness
in National, Regional and International
Agri-Food Markets

The Alliance for the Sustainable Development of
Agriculture and the Rural Milieu in the Caribbean
4th Caribbean Week of Agriculture, October 2003, Guyana

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

15

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

16

CWA 2010...mark your calendar!

AgriView is published every trimester by the Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). It provides a
forum for researchers, policy makers and agri-entrepreneurs,
including small farmer, to share ideas and successful experiences
that will contribute to the repositioning of the agri-food system
in the Caribbean to one that is economically efficient, socially
responsible and environmentally sound. It also provides
information to enhance knowledge critical to agribusiness.

Editor and Production Coordination: Diana Francis
Contributors: Brent Theophile and Waheeda Abass
Layout: Kathryn Duncan
Print: Orange Printers

This issue was printed with funding from the Technical Centre
for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
The responsibility for opinions expressed in this publication and
errors and omissions rest solely with the editors.
Any and
welcome.

all

contributions

ISSN 1991-2315; CaRC/TT-03/10

| Vol. 15, No. 2, 2010

and

comments

are

most

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Office in Trinidad and Tobago
P.O. Box 1318, Port of Spain
#10 Austin Street, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Tel: (868) 645-5020; 4555. Fax: (868) 662-8253; Email: diana.francis@iica.int