CaribVista
Caribbean Land Trust & Food Security Initiative
A satellite census of 15 Caribbean nations revealing 10.3 million hectares of idle agricultural land (of which ~460K ha is realistically accessible), powered by ESA WorldCover v200 and Sentinel-2 at 10-meter resolution.
The Caribbean Is Starving Itself
Fifteen nations spending billions on imported food while millions of hectares of fertile land sit idle. This is the most solvable food security crisis on Earth.
Fifteen Caribbean nations spend $8.4 billion annually importing food that could be grown on their own soil. This capital permanently leaves the region, enriching foreign producers.
SOURCE: Sum of 15-nation food import bills from FAO FAOSTAT 2023-2024 and national trade statisticsOn average, Caribbean nations import 60% of their food. Small islands like Barbados and Trinidad import 85%. One hurricane can trigger weeks of acute food shortage.
SOURCE: World Bank Caribbean Regional Overview; FAO Food Balance Sheets, 2024Satellite census reveals 10.3 million hectares of idle grassland across 15 nations (of which ~460K ha is realistically accessible). Former plantations, abandoned farms, fallow fields — all visible from orbit.
SOURCE: ESA WorldCover v200, 10m resolution, GEE computation, Feb 2026For every 1 hectare of active cropland in the Caribbean, there are 19 hectares of idle grassland sitting unused.
SOURCE: Computed from ESA WorldCover v200 across all 15 nations: 536,014 ha crop / 10,263,129 ha grassEvery Hectare, Mapped from Orbit
ESA WorldCover v200 at 10-meter resolution classifies every pixel of land across the Caribbean. Below: the complete satellite land census for each nation.
Barbados
BB / BRBBarbados has 13,468 hectares of grassland on an 85% food-import-dependent island.
Jamaica
JM / JAMJamaica has 179,585 hectares of idle grassland while importing 80% of its food at $1.1B per year.
Trinidad & Tobago
TT / TTOTrinidad & Tobago has only 500 hectares of active cropland — while 78,740 hectares of grassland sits idle.
Guyana
GY / GUYGuyana has 5.8 million hectares of grassland — an area larger than most Caribbean nations — while oil risks Dutch Disease.
Belize
BZ / BLZBelize has 60,000 hectares of accessible idle land — while importing 30% of its food.
Suriname
SR / SURSuriname has 558,420 hectares of idle grassland while 93% of the country is pristine forest that must stay protected.
Dominican Republic
DO / DOMThe Dominican Republic has 1.67 million hectares of idle grassland while spending $2.5 billion per year on food imports.
Haiti
HT / HTIHaiti has 1.44 million hectares of idle grassland while 4.7 million people face acute food insecurity.
Antigua & Barbuda
AG / ATGAntigua has 12,100 hectares of idle grassland and 66,000 acres of government-controlled land on a 90% food-import-dependent island where agriculture collapsed from 40% to 1.8% of GDP.
Dominica
DM / DMADominica has the highest agriculture-to-GDP ratio in the OECS (16%), yet Hurricane Maria destroyed 100% of agricultural output in 2017 and food imports have soared to $56M annually.
Grenada
GD / GRDGrenada, world's #2 nutmeg producer, lost 90% of its nutmeg trees to Hurricane Ivan in 2004 — trees that take 8-15 years to mature. The Spice Isle has 5,400 ha of idle grassland.
St Kitts & Nevis
KN / KNASt Kitts & Nevis has the HIGHEST food import dependency in the Caribbean (95%) — the sugar industry closure in 2005 left thousands of hectares of former cane land idle.
St Lucia
LC / LCASt Lucia's banana industry collapsed after the EU removed preferential trade terms — leaving thousands of hectares of former plantation land idle on an 85% food-import-dependent island.
St Vincent & the Grenadines
VC / VCTSt Vincent is the world's #1 arrowroot producer, yet La Soufriere's 2021 volcanic eruption ($185M damage) devastated the most productive agricultural land in the north, and Hurricane Beryl (2024) caused $231M damage.
The Bahamas
BS / BHSThe Bahamas is the wealthiest CARICOM nation ($14.1B GDP) yet imports 90% of its food at $1B annually — and Hurricane Dorian (2019) destroyed Abaco and Grand Bahama agriculture.
The Opportunity in Numbers
What happens when you activate 10.3 million hectares of idle Caribbean land. Land cover from satellite census; economic figures are projections modeled from published research.
Satellite-verified idle grassland across all 15 nations — former plantations, fallow fields, abandoned estates.
SOURCE: ESA WorldCover v200, 10m, GEE Census Feb 2026At FAO labour-intensity coefficients (3 direct jobs/ha on accessible idle land), full Tier 2 activation creates ~159,000 direct and indirect living-wage agricultural jobs.
SOURCE: CaribVista Social Impact Model; FAO Labor Statistics — Tier 2 (460K ha accessible)Local production from Tier 2 accessible land replacing imported staples. Root crops, vegetables, legumes, and rice grown locally at competitive cost.
SOURCE: CaribVista Economic Model; CARICOM Trade Statistics — Tier 2 (460K ha accessible)Full activation of Tier 2 accessible idle land could produce enough staple food to feed ~229,000 Caribbean people year-round.
SOURCE: CaribVista Social Impact Model; FAO Nutritional Requirements — Tier 2 (460K ha accessible)Surplus-producing countries (Guyana, Belize, DR) feed deficit countries (Barbados, T&T, Haiti) through a regional trade network.
SOURCE: CaribVista Inter-Island Trade Network ModelAll native forest across all 15 nations is LOCKED as permanently protected. CaribVista activates ONLY idle grassland. Zero deforestation.
SOURCE: ESA WorldCover v200; CBD/REDD+ Compliance FrameworkEvery Tree Is Permanently Protected
CaribVista NEVER recommends converting forest to agriculture. All 56.7 million hectares of native forest across 15 nations are permanently locked as protected land.
Provenance Engine
Every pixel of land has its full history traced through 108 months of Sentinel-2 imagery (2017-2025). Any pixel that was ever classified as forest is permanently locked as protected, regardless of its current Farmland Potential Index score. This prevents any possibility of recommending land that was recently deforested.
Only Idle Grassland Activated
CaribVista exclusively activates grassland, shrubland, and fallow agricultural land. This is predominantly former plantation land (sugarcane, cotton, estates) that has been abandoned and converted to low-productivity pasture. Activating this land is an act of restoration, not conversion.
Dual-Entity Architecture
A non-profit trust activates the land. A technology company provides the intelligence. Development partners provide the capital. Three pillars, one mission: food sovereignty.
CaribVista Land Trust
Acquires & activates idle land
- Negotiates long-term leases on idle grassland from governments and private owners
- Hires local farmers at living wages through cooperatives
- Distributes essential food free to families in need
- Export crops (cocoa, coffee, tropical fruit) fund ongoing operations
- Governed by community board with farmer representation
Satellite Intelligence
Why this is actually viable
- We see every hectare from space — ESA WorldCover + Sentinel-2 at 10m resolution, 108 months of continuous data
- We detect crop stress weeks before it is visible — NDVI monitoring on a 5-day revisit cycle eliminates waste
- We verify carbon sequestration from orbit — automated MRV for credit generation without expensive ground surveys
- We assess hurricane damage within 48 hours — pre/post SAR imagery guides recovery before aid agencies arrive
- We train farmers with science — 4-module agricultural programme validated against FAO and CIFOR-ICRAF standards
Funding Partners
Regional & international development financing
- Development banks (CDB, World Bank, IDB) provide concessional lending and grants
- Impact investors and blended finance vehicles for commercial-scale activation
- Technical Assistance grants for pilot programs in each nation
- Special Development Fund access for Haiti and other LDCs
- Climate finance (GCF, GEF) for carbon sequestration and resilience programmes
Every Number Is Real
No projections without evidence. Every hectare counted by satellite. Every economic figure from published international databases.
ESA WorldCover v200
10-meter global land cover classification. Tree cover, shrubland, grassland, cropland, urban, bare soil, wetland, mangrove — every pixel classified.
Sentinel-2 MSI
Multispectral imagery at 10m resolution, 108 months of continuous observation (2017-2025). NDVI, NDWI, EVI, and custom spectral indices for crop health and land-use change detection.
Sentinel-1 SAR
Synthetic Aperture Radar for all-weather, day/night land surface monitoring. Soil moisture estimation, flood mapping, and crop structure analysis through cloud cover.
FAO / World Bank / CDB
National economic statistics, food import dependency databases, agricultural census data, and trade balance sheets. Cross-validated against satellite observations.
Deep-Dive Into Each Nation
Every country has a dedicated intelligence dossier with satellite evidence, financial models, and activation strategy.
Barbados
Grass:Crop ratio 3.8:1 — former sugarcane estates
Jamaica
Grass:Crop ratio 20.7:1 — 179K ha opportunity
Trinidad & Tobago
Grass:Crop ratio 157:1 — most extreme in Caribbean
Guyana
5.8M ha grassland — can feed entire CARICOM
Belize
489K ha idle — 18% of national territory
Suriname
558K ha grassland on coastal plain — zero-deforestation path
Dominican Republic
1.67M ha idle — $2.5B import substitution target
Haiti
1.44M ha idle — 4.7M people face food insecurity
Antigua & Barbuda
Dominica
Grenada
St Kitts & Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent & the Grenadines
The Bahamas
Transform Caribbean Food Security
CaribVista is seeking development finance partners to launch pilot programs across all 15 Caribbean nations.
Technical Assistance
TA Grant for satellite land census validation and pilot program design in each Caribbean nation.
Pilot Financing
Concessional lending for the Barbados pilot: 13,468 hectares of idle grassland, 300+ farmers, Year 1 deployment.
Regional Program
Multi-country agricultural transformation program spanning all 15 nations. Inter-island food trade network.
Request the full intelligence dossier, financial models, and satellite evidence package for any of the 15 Caribbean nations.