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Can you go to the Caribbean and still be able to maintain your healthy lifestyle of eating organic foods? Yah Mon, you can. For a number of years now, the Caribbean countries have been making a stretch to be competitive in the organic marketplace.
According to an article by Jon Paul Buchmeyer for Bon Appetit in December 2020, the Caribbean is a latecomer to the organic food table. He said that “agricultural production in the region has actually declined with the boom of tourism, and farmers have left the field for lucrative jobs in the hospitality industry.” Residents of the Caribbean have been importing food from the U.S. at an alarming rate, he said. Instead of using fresh food sourced by local farmers, the food is sold in local markets and used throughout the resorts.
Yes, that is true, but what Buchmeyer didn’t know is that in the rural areas of most Caribbean countries, farmers have been growing good wholesome organic food for centuries. We spoke to Sonny Moon, who is 93 years old but can remember raising his family on home-grown food (now referred to as organic) and naturally raised animals (now referred to as “free-range” animals.)
“People living in the rural areas don’t have the money to give their animals hormones to make them grow unnaturally larger like they do here in the U.S.,” said Sonny. “We have always fed the animals what we have. We give them grass, composted materials that consists of leftover foods, scraps or we cook special foods to make slop specifically for them. We also use the animal manure to fertilize our crops. With very few stores in the local area, farmers have to depend on what is accessible.”
These are the same local farmers that resorts and restaurants are now sourcing their fresh produce from. Tourists vacationing in the Caribbean with sensitive palates have been demanding cleaner, pesticide-free foods. Farmers throughout the islands have struck up partnerships with these restaurants and resorts that are interested in buying their organic fruits and vegetables in bulk to cater to their guests. It is a win-win situation.
Caribbean farmers with even bigger aspirations have been trying to enter into the exporting of organic foods. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations invites leaders to numerous networking sessions each year. A participant in one session pointed to an example in his country of a farmer who is using common sense to farm organically: “Andrew Royer has been farming organically in Dominica for the past 30 years on a slope, on less than 3 acres. He produces 40 different products. He has held the view that he should not address the pest problem but create a harmonious environment. The words of such a man are not heard in the Caribbean, especially not by institutes of learning. I mentioned him because there is a quality of learning among the small farmers who have been producing healthy products for decades.”
The FAO is seeing an increasing demand for certified organic products from traders, retailers and consumers, but they still face numerous trade barriers in order to supply an international market. They must be able to demonstrate that their products comply with internationally agreed organic standards. They will need advanced legal and technical knowledge of such standards. This has posed a problem for small farmers with very little capital.
How can they overcome some of these obstacles? Organic farmers may have to take baby steps. The research by the FAO suggests that the best approach for the small Caribbean farmers is to first create their own market by promoting their organic foods in their community and surrounding towns. They can use cheap and locally available resources to grow and generate the capital that they need. And finally, they can hire the experts that they need and get the government on board so that they can negotiate trade deals for exports to neighboring countries with a goal of trading with the United States, United Kingdom and European Union in the future.
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