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At a regional Agri-Investment Forum held in Trinidad, Gervase Warner, Chief Executive Officer of Massy Holdings and Chairman of the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation, laid out an ambitious vision for Caribbean food security. According to The Sun’s report, Warner argued that the region must solve its own food crisis, noting that external support from former colonial powers or major developed nations would not materialise. He proposed that private sector investment in agricultural production across Belize, Guyana, Trinidad, and other nations could enable the Caribbean to produce one-quarter of its food and agricultural requirements by 2025, potentially reducing CARICOM’s annual food import bill from US$4 billion by at least US$1.2 billion.
The initiative comes as global pressures intensify food security challenges across the region. European conflict, international sanctions, climate change, and drought are driving up energy, fertiliser, and transport costs, making the long-term economic outlook precarious for nations dependent on food imports. A coalition of four nations—Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, and Barbados—is developing an ambitious infrastructure strategy that includes establishing an intra-regional shipping service, constructing regional food hubs in Barbados and potentially Antigua, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad, and developing value-added agri-processing facilities. Discussions have also begun with Brazil’s Roraima province about creating a regional agricultural outlet through Guyana.
Despite this strategic vision, a troubling gap has emerged between government ambition and private sector appetite. According to The Sun, regional business leaders have shown reluctance to pursue cross-border investments within CARICOM, even as some larger Caribbean corporations maintain agricultural ventures in Latin America. Prime Ministers Keith Rowley of Trinidad, Ifran Ali of Guyana, and Chandrikapersad Santokhi of Suriname all addressed what Rowley termed "the resistance" of business to these initiatives. Rowley appealed to the private sector to shift its role from commission agents for foreign producers to distributors of local Caribbean goods.
Economist Marla Dukharan, cited in the article, identifies systemic obstacles deterring investment across the region. She points to what she calls the "dis-ease of doing business" in the Caribbean—a combination of climate risks in the Eastern Caribbean, limited market size, restricted access to credit, difficulty entering industries dominated by established players, and foreign exchange controls in Barbados and The Bahamas. Only Guyana, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, according to Dukharan, present investment profiles where opportunity outweighs risk.
The implications are stark. If Caribbean companies fail to capitalise on emerging agricultural opportunities, governments have signalled they will welcome foreign investors—a reversal of post-independence trends when foreign firms withdrew from Caribbean agricultural land ownership. Jessop warns that without addressing these structural barriers and accelerating regional reforms to facilitate capital and labour movement, investors from China, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf may assume control of Caribbean food production. The columnist argues that the region faces a challenge as significant as the end of preferential commodity arrangements with Europe, requiring holistic solutions, transparency, and long-term vision to prevent a repeat of the default embrace of tourism and cheap food imports that followed earlier economic transitions.
The CARICOM region has historically relied on food imports to meet domestic consumption, with current annual costs reaching approximately US$4 billion. Recent geopolitical and climate disruptions have intensified pressure on food security across the Caribbean, prompting regional leaders to pursue agricultural self-sufficiency strategies. The push for private sector investment reflects a recognition that government alone cannot finance the infrastructure and production capacity needed to reduce import dependency.
This story is central to Caribbean futures. Food security directly affects the cost of living, economic stability, and sovereignty across the region. The tension between government vision and private sector reluctance reveals deeper structural challenges—business environment concerns, climate vulnerability, and regional integration barriers—that constrain development across multiple sectors. The outcome will determine whether Caribbean nations control their own agricultural destiny or cede it to foreign investors.
Sources and attribution
- The Sun
- Guyana drives regional food production
- Significant progress being made in slashing Caricom food import bill – Pres Ali
- food import bill Archives – CARICOM
- USAID high-level team follows up on Summit of Americas promise of closer ties
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