Caribbean Agriculture in a Period of Global Change: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities

Abstract

Agricultural trends in the insular Caribbean are increasingly shaped by global change. Global change is characterized by two components, globalization and environmental change. Specifically, we can identify stresses and shocks associated both by economic trade liberalization, and the impacts of environmental hazards. In the latter case, an apparent increase in extreme weather conditions (notably unpredictable periods of prolonged drought and of intense rainfall) are possible harbingers of climate change. These forces have impacted both export agriculture and domestic food production throughout the region. In this paper, we document the performance of the agricultural sector in the context of these external forces. One focus of attention is the ability of small-scale farming systems to cope with, and adapt to, external change, drawing on their traditional knowledge. Opportunities for Caribbean agriculture are also evident through overseas niche markets and alternative trading networks like fair trade.Las tendencias en el desarrollo agrícola en el Caribe insular están cada vez más sujetas a los cambios globales. Estos cambios globales se componen de dos elementos, globalización y cambios ambientales. Podemos identificar concretamente las tensiones y los impactos que conllevan la liberalización del comercio y los impactos de peligros ambientales. En lo referente al último caso, el aparente aumento de las condiciones climatológicas extremas (en especial períodos impredecibles de sequía prolongada y lluvias intensas) representa un posible presagio de cambios climáticos. Estos factores han repercutido en toda la región tanto en la agricultura para la exportación como en la producción doméstica de alimentos. En este artículo documentamos el rendimiento del sector agrícola en el contexto de estos factores externos. Uno de los focos de atención gira alrededor de la capacidad de los sistemas agrícolas a pequeña escala de adaptarse y enfrentar el cambio externo haciendo uso de los conocimientos tradicionales. Además, hay

A social justice framing of climate change discourse and policy: Adaptation, resilience and vulnerability in a Jamaican agricultural landscape

“…In order to illustrate more concretely how this is so, we turn now to an empirical example derived from an ongoing research project focused on climate change in the agricultural sector of Jamaica. Although our research results are evidently influenced by the local context, we believe that they are suggestive of the kinds of challenges that may be faced by vulnerable rural populations across the Caribbean (Barker, 2012).…”

Geographies of Caribbean Vulnerability in a Changing Climate: Issues and Trends

“…Similarly, Lopez‐Marrero and Wisner () argue that the reason hazards usually translate into disasters is not solely explained by exposure to hazards or even the nature of such “natural” events, but also by the social and human conditions of the exposed populations. This is particularly true for the Caribbean given the region's long held vulnerability to global economic change fuelled largely by the debilitating legacies handed down over the centuries by its colonial past (Barker ; Potter et al ). Regional states' historical dependence on overseas metropolitan markets in Europe for instance has resulted in several past instances of heightened vulnerability due to sharp declines in the prices of commonly traded commodities such as sugar or changes to foreign tariff regimes that favour products produced outside of the region as in the case of European sugar beet during the second half of the 19th century (Barker ; Richardson ).…”

“…This is particularly true for the Caribbean given the region's long held vulnerability to global economic change fuelled largely by the debilitating legacies handed down over the centuries by its colonial past (Barker ; Potter et al ). Regional states' historical dependence on overseas metropolitan markets in Europe for instance has resulted in several past instances of heightened vulnerability due to sharp declines in the prices of commonly traded commodities such as sugar or changes to foreign tariff regimes that favour products produced outside of the region as in the case of European sugar beet during the second half of the 19th century (Barker ; Richardson ). In their assessment of the trends and root causes in the occurrence of disasters in the insular Caribbean, Lopez‐Marrero and Wisner (: 131) argue that a common denominator seen throughout the region “is suffering triggered by natural hazards and exacerbated by political instability, government corruption, and poverty.”…”

“…A case in point was the extensive damage Hurricane Ivan inflicted on Jamaica's agriculture sector in 2004. The country's agriculture sector recorded losses in the region of J$8.5 billion (Barker ). In Grenada, the same hurricane damaged 90% of nutmeg trees across the island (displacing some 6,500 nutmeg farmers), destroyed 90% of the national housing stock (totaling US$517 million or 38% of GDP), and 80% of total agricultural assets (estimated 10% of GDP), with overall damages totaling US$824 million (Becken and Hay ; OECS 2005).…”

“…The island of Barbados is already seeing signs of saltwater intrusion into its coastal aquifers, which will seriously compromise its food and water security in the coming decades. In Guyana, prime coastal lands that have traditionally been used to grow export crops such as sugar cane and rice are now faced with enhanced threats of coastal inundation due to the anticipated rise in mean sea levels (Barker ). Even a small rise in sea level could have major developmental consequences for Guyana, largely owing to the fact that the bulk of its population (an estimated 90 percent), agricultural lands, and physical infrastructure are confined to a narrow low‐lying coastal plain, extending no more than 25 kilometres (16 miles) inland in width and lying approximately 6 feet below mean sea level.…”