Agricultural problems of small states, with special reference to commonwealth Caribbean countries

Abstract

For purposes of this paper, states are grouped by total population size, those with less than five million inhabitants being classified as small.

Small states do not necessarily have smaller farms. However, external economies of scale in research, extension, training, procurement and distribution of inputs, and the transportation and marketing of output may be missed. Product specialisation and regional co-operation offer some scope for alleviating these problems.

Foreign trade is important for the development of small economies; and for those well-endowed with natural resources, may be based on primary production. For those less well-endowed, increasing dependence on industry and other sectors is necessary, and agriculture must undergo adjustment. The plantation system, common in the Caribbean and other island economies, imposes a rigid structure and obstructs the change to family farming, food production and more intensive methods of cropping, appropriate to the development process. For those small countries with high man:land ratios, land reform is crucial. This highlights the need for sector planning and sector-based development finance.

Island small states can often encourage tourism in place of manufacturing which is limited by market size constraints. Tourism increases the demand for food and agriculture must adjust to meet this demand and prevent over rapid emigration to the tourist sector.

The location of small countries can influence agricultural development prospects, adversely in the case of remote islands and favourably when near to large industrialised countries with markets for high value market garden crops.