Four Systems, One Goal
Every hectare is allocated to one of four farming systems based on local conditions. Agroforestry dominates where elevation and rainfall support shade canopy. Pasture on existing grassland. Protected agriculture where water or soil quality limit open-field farming.
National Composting Programme
A barrel-swap model scaled to 15 nations. Households fill barrels with organic waste, receive payment at collection, and farms receive high-quality compost. Carbon credits from verified methane diversion.
Dual-Channel: Sell to Save
The critical insight: giving food away does not reduce imports. To displace a dollar of imported food, you must SELL a dollar of local food through commercial channels. The dual-channel model sells 70-80% commercially and donates 20-30% to social programmes.
If you grow 1,000 tonnes of tomatoes and give them all away for free, the country still imports 1,000 tonnes of tomatoes. The import bill does not change. You must sell those tomatoes through the same channels that currently sell imported ones — supermarkets, hotels, restaurants — to actually displace imports.
"Caribbean Harvest" Store Concept
Cooperative-owned retail chain. "From Caribbean farms, for Caribbean families." A franchise model deployed across all 15 nations, selling 100% Caribbean-grown produce and value-added products.
The Caribbean Food Network
Countries with surplus land (Guyana, Belize, Suriname) feed countries with high import dependency. 26 viable maritime trade routes moving 48,588 tonnes per year. Guyana is the regional food factory.
With 5.8 million hectares of grassland and a population of only 800,000, Guyana produces far more food than it consumes. It is the natural breadbasket of the Caribbean. Rice, beef, vegetables, and sugar flow outward to Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, and the OECS islands. The oil boom (Dutch Disease) threatens this role — CaribVista aims to protect and expand it.
40% Wheat Flour Substitution
The Caribbean imports over $350M/yr in wheat flour — a crop that cannot grow in the tropics. Breadfruit, cassava, and sweet potato flour can replace 40% of wheat flour in bread, pasta, and baked goods. This is a $140M/yr displacement opportunity.
No Caribbean nation grows wheat. Every loaf of bread, every pasta packet, every pastry depends on imported flour. Breadfruit, cassava, and sweet potato grow abundantly across all 15 nations and can be processed into shelf-stable flour using solar dryers and hammer mills.
What 459,500 Hectares Produces
When all 15 nations are fully activated at year 10, the combined output transforms regional food security. These are conservative estimates based on FAO yield benchmarks and CARICOM trade data.