The COVID-19 pandemic, with its disruption of global supply chains, should have opened our eyes to our precarious dependence on the outside world. While we proudly proclaim ourselves a republic, we cannot feed ourselves.
As far back as 1988, the late Morgan Job—former parliamentarian, economist, writer, and radio personality—warned, “All they care about is pan. I want to see if their supporters would eat pan when we have no food.”
Job was a persistent critic of the government’s failure to develop agriculture and reduce our dependence on imported food. Thirty-five years and multiple regime changes later, it seems not much has changed.
On September 1st, 2024, Agricultural Society of T&T director Donny Rogers said by now, the country should have significantly reduced its reliance on imported fresh produce. He stressed the need for a “willful and cohesive approach to agriculture,” allowing the population to eat healthier without breaking the bank.
Then, on November 5, 2024, letter contributor Gordon Laughlin wrote: “Agriculture in T&T is facing a critical crisis, marked by the smallest budget allocation in recent years. This lack of investment in the agricultural sector poses a significant threat to food security, as the country increasingly relies on imports to meet its basic food needs.”
T&T has the capacity to feed its population. We have arable land, water, locally produced fertilisers, and access to affordable fuel. Yet, our annual food import bill hovers around $5 billion.
In March 2024, the website of the International Trade Administration reported: “With US exports totalling $450.2 million in 2022—a 22 per cent increase from the previous year—T&T is the second-largest market in the English-speaking Caribbean for US agricultural exports. The country is heavily dependent on food imports, with roughly 40 per cent originating from the United States.”
The adage, “When America sneezes, the world catches a cold,” may soon haunt us. Just nine days ago, FBI director Kash Patel announced the arrest of two Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a potential agroterrorism weapon into the US: the noxious fungus Fusarium graminearum.
Had this fungus succeeded in targeting the US agricultural sector, not only the US—but by extension, T&T—would have faced devastating consequences.
In this uncertain global climate, it is imperative T&T reduce its overreliance on imported food.
This is not without precedent. During World War II, Japan deployed rice blast fungus spores to damage Chinese rice crops. Both the US and the USSR developed anti-crop biological weapons but eventually agreed to cease such programmes under the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972. In 2002, a group in Britain attempted to introduce foot-and-mouth disease into the US.
Advances in genetic engineering have made biological threats more insidious. Scientists can now modify plant and pest DNA, creating new toxins that bypass natural plant immunity. Crops can be genetically altered to become vulnerable to common pests, or even engineered with “suicide genes” that activate under specific conditions.
China is currently the world’s largest producer of agricultural commodities such as rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, soybeans, and cotton. If the US agricultural sector were severely damaged—whether through warfare, economic conflict, or agroterrorism—it would alter the global balance of power, including Trump-era tariff dynamics.
Locally, while farmers have been offered subsidised loans and access to agricultural incentive programmes, many report challenges in qualifying for these benefits.
A major obstacle is the requirement for land tenure to access support. Approximately 65 per cent of T&T farmers lack secure tenure. This criterion may need to be reconsidered. Alternatives could include evaluating applicants based on years of cultivation or crop production history.
Labour also remains a challenge. The Government could consider mobilising CEPEP workers or migrant labour to support agricultural production. While we may not be able to compete with the cost of imported produce from metropolitan countries, in times of global uncertainty, food security must be prioritised—even if only for local consumption.
T&T stands at a crossroads. Our continued dependence on imported food is no longer just an economic issue—it is a national security risk.
We must act now to ensure our people can feed themselves in a rapidly changing and increasingly unstable world.
