The Caribbean region is grappling with a severe food security crisis. World Bank estimates indicate that a staggering 80-90% of food consumed in the region is imported. Only three Caribbean countries – Guyana, Belize, and Haiti – produce more than 50% of their own food. This heavy reliance on imports has left the region vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations.

The scale of the problem is alarming, with approximately 2.7 million people in the English-speaking Caribbean considered “food-insecure”. A recent CARICOM survey found that 71% of respondents reported higher than usual food prices. Low-income households are bearing the brunt of this crisis, with 68% reducing food consumption and 40% struggling with food stocks.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the fragility of the region’s food systems. Increased sea freight costs, cold-storage chain pressures, and reduced tourism revenue have contributed to dwindling foreign reserves and prolonged food price concerns.

Several factors contribute to the ongoing food security challenges in the Caribbean:

• Historical agricultural focus: Traditionally, Caribbean agriculture focused on producing export commodities such as sugar and bananas. While countries now aim to shift toward increased food production and diversification, domestic production volumes and productivity remain low.
• Climate vulnerability: Most farms in the region are small-scale, rain-fed operations of less than two hectares. These farms are highly vulnerable to climate variability and have low adaptive capacity to cope with rapid onset impacts from storms, droughts, and floods.
• Land degradation: Soil erosion and other forms of land degradation are contributing to declining agricultural productivity in many Caribbean countries.
• Reliance on imports: The heavy dependence on food imports reduces food system resilience, as policymakers have little influence over food prices, volume, and nutritional quality.
• Unhealthy food choices: Cheap, convenient, and unhealthy foods are increasingly common, especially among young people. This trend is leading to slower cognitive development, childhood obesity, and increased risk of non-communicable diseases in adulthood.
• Limited economies of scale: The small market size of many Caribbean nations limits options for economies of scale, leading to higher per-unit production, logistics, and transportation costs.
• Agricultural policies: Current policies often place more burden on food consumers than producers, with trade protection policies for specific products acting as an implicit tax on consumers who pay higher domestic prices.