Annual Agriculture Review 2008 - Government of Grenada

Grenada’s Agrarian Economy – Exploiting the Niche of Agro-
Tourism - By Shadel Nyack Compton, Proprietor, Belmont Estate
Belmont Estate, St. Patrick
Grenada’s agrarian economy
emanates out of the island’s historic
past – from the days of its original
settlers, the Arawaks and later the Caribs.
Both operated a subsistence economy,
that was directed towards the land and
sea. 1 Prolific farmers and fishermen, their
success was assured not only because of
their techniques and assiduousness, but
because of the availability of arable land, the
extreme fertility of the volcanic soil and the
fruitfulness of the seas. With colonization
came the further dependence on agriculture
as the bedrock of the economy. Plantations
were established for the production of
agricultural produce for export, with
guaranteed markets of the produce to
Europe. With independence, and erosion
of the plantation system in favour of smaller
farms came changes in production, trends
and markets.
Grenada was historically known for
its sugar, and later banana, cocoa and
nutmeg production. The export-centered
agriculture has been challenged because
of free trade restrictions and the removal
of market protection privileges previously
enjoyed by the region. 2 The reduction in
some of the international markets, and
the stiffening of competition, have led
to decreased production for export and
diversification into fruits and vegetables,
mostly for the domestic market. In addition,
change in consumer preferences for
imported and processed foods over locally
grown, unfriendly environmental and
climatic changes have negatively impacted
agricultural production. Hurricanes Ivan
and Emily of 2004 and 2005 respectively,
largely damaged and destroyed tree crop
production of nutmegs, cocoa and fruit,
resulting in overall decreased production in
these areas.
Correspondingly, agriculture’s contribution
to GDP has decreased from 9.46% in
2002 to 6.25% in 2008. Cognizant of
the declining agricultural revenue, and the
need to stimulate local food production the
government of Grenada over the last decade
has instituted a national food security
program. With the trend towards domestic
food security, satisfying the demands at
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