Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, and Jamaica unite to enhance sweet potato farming

Farmers in the Caribbean will soon have access to cleaner, high-quality sweet potato plants, thanks to a new initiative led by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The "Next Generation Sweet Potato Production in the Caribbean" project will run for four years, involving the agriculture ministries of Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia, in collaboration with the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI). The project is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with an investment of $596,000.

Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining, Floyd Green, highlighted the importance of sweet potatoes in the region, calling them a staple food. He pointed out that increasing local production can help reduce imports, especially by using sweet potatoes as an alternative to wheat flour and animal feed.

Green also noted the growing global demand for Caribbean sweet potatoes. In 2024, Jamaica alone exported 995,000 kilograms of the crop to countries like Canada, the UK, France, the Cayman Islands, and Tortola, generating $3 million in revenue.

Kent Coipel, IICA's representative in Jamaica, emphasized that the project is not just about better crops but also about strengthening food security, sustainability, and economic opportunities for farmers across the region.

This project is expected to make sweet potato farming more efficient and resilient, benefiting both local farmers and international markets.

source: jamaica.loopnews.com

photo: buckiegotit.com