What are some coping strategies being employed due to food insecurity?

People in the Caribbean are resorting to worrying trends like selling off assets and using savings to meet basic needs, which was previously uncommon in the region. These strategies are unsustainable, and there's concern that they will lead to more people being unable to meet their daily food requirements.

What external factors are impacting food security in the Caribbean?

The Caribbean's food security is heavily influenced by external factors like global food price hikes, particularly following the Ukraine conflict. Additionally, the region's heavy reliance on food imports for domestic consumption and tourism has made it vulnerable to international market fluctuations.

What is the current state of food insecurity in the Caribbean?

Food insecurity in the Caribbean has escalated significantly. The number of people facing moderate to severe food insecurity in the English-speaking Caribbean rose by 46% over six months in 2022, affecting about 4.1 million people or 57% of the population. The crisis is exacerbated by factors like rising food prices, the Ukraine conflict, and COVID-19's lingering impacts.

Reducing dependency on imported food one island at a time

A decision adopted by the most inhabited and accessible of the world’s islands has created a food imbalance that today sees islanders threatened with basic food security. Over half a century ago, tourism was embraced and developed by island nations to attract foreign dollars to their shores and provide employment for island residents.

Until recently, the decision to develop a tourism sector has been hugely successful, providing much needed revenue and a rise in the standard of living for several decades. However, the pandemic has left most islands reeling in its wake. Broken supply chains have seen a three-fold increase in the price of imported produce on many islands.

This dependence on imported food has prompted many governments to explore ways to develop island agriculture; ways that are sustainable, environmentally friendly, provide employment and create food security for the islands and their people.

Growing To Give provides agricultural technologies suitable for small land holder farming that adapt to the natural environment in a sustainable, productive, and cost-effective way.

The Islands

There are thousands of islands dotted around the world’s oceans most of which are uninhabited. Those that are not struggle with food security.

ST. MARTIN – We are preparing two food security demonstration sites on the island of St. Martin. One demonstration site is rural, a small holder farm on the French side of the island. The other demonstration site is urban, a small piece of land on the Dutch side where the cruise ships dock. The Dutch site will be open for tours and training every Saturday. Application will be made for approval as an island attraction for tourists to walk through after they depart the cruise liners. Reports about our Crop Circle farms and gardens would spread far and wide as these ships dock and release their passengers onto the island creating potential for project opportunities around the world.

ANTIGUA - Our food security demonstration site is located a stone’s throw from the only runway of the only airport on the island of Antigua. The site will be clearly visible to the over 1,000,000 visitors that travel by air to the island each year creating a one-of-a-kind marketing opportunity to creatively display our agricultural technologies. With that in mind, two half acre Crop Circle spirals will be planted. At the tail on one, 15-foot-tall lettering will be planted, spelling the word Antigua and the tail end of the other will spell Barbuda. The rest of the site will be populated with Crop Circle Gardens and like St. Martin be open for tours, training, and demonstration.

GRENADA - We’ve been invited to join a collaborative Pilot Land Bank Project with The Grenada Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Forestry, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Greenz Harvest, Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC) and the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Rural Enterprise Programme (SAEP). A second site has been acquired one half a mile from the island residence of the Prime Minister. The Land Bank Project site is situated on a hillside that will be terraced to create 20-foot-wide forest and food production pathways. The second site is open and flat. Several Feed An Island food security technologies will be featured including Crop Circle Gardens, Crop Circle Farms and our terraced Crop Circle agroforestry technology.

MAURITIUS – Mauritius, a picturesque Indian Ocean Island nation celebrated for its pristine beaches, lagoons, and reefs, faces significant challenges despite its idyllic setting. Despite its lush landscape, the island imports a staggering 90% of its food, including staple vegetables. This heavy reliance on imports has led to elevated costs; sweet bell peppers and tomatoes, for instance, are priced at nearly three times what one might pay in many Western countries. Compounding these economic pressures, over half of the island's population lives in poverty.