Strengthening Caribbean Agriculture through Linkages in the Tourism Sector

It is not uncommon, when discussing the concept of agro-tourism, that the immediate perception is that of people visiting farms. The imagination might stretch into thoughts of organized crops in lush green fields, farmers and farm workers toiling in the sun, cane burning, pontoons hauling stacks of cane, cattle grazing, the stench of the piggeries, clucking of the chickens, waterlogged rice fields, mud, trenches, etc.  But never a tantalizing thought of a sumptuous meal!!

Now try to imagine a thriving tourism business without food and beverage. Whether you’re operating 200 rooms or 20 rooms, the guests must eat. Whether you’re doing bed and breakfast, or room only, organizing trips to places of interest, or hosting spectators at international cricket, food and beverage is a sine qua non.

Try to calculate the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners consumed by the total number of visitors to Guyana, and translate this into tons of fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat and dairy products and bottled water, and you would be astounded by the figure. Then, try to imagine how much of this is sourced locally or regionally. You will be astounded by the value of vital foreign exchange being leaked.

It is against a background of the stark realities of these leakages that IICA launched an Agro-tourism Project in collaboration with the OAS in 2005. The Project seeks to strengthen the linkages between agriculture and tourism in seven (7) CARICOM territories – Barbados, Commonwealth of Dominica,   Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana.

Among some of the project activities in Guyana have been the production of an Agro-Tourism Inventory Document, a Concept Paper and Strategy Document to guide the national authorities in developing the sectors (public and private), participation of local entrepreneurs in a Regional Investment Forum for     Agri-Tourism, training workshops to forge linkages among farmers/producers, market vendors/middlemen, hoteliers, restaurateurs, chefs, processors, etc.

IICA has been facilitating the building of partnerships in the sector through the exchange of visits along the food supply chain among the key players. This, we believe, will help to build trust in the system.  Partnerships are built on trust. The Chef must be able to trust the farmer/supplier and vice versa; likewise, the patron at the hotel/restaurant must trust what is on his/her plate.

To take advantage of the opportunity to supply the quantity and quality of food and beverage to the tourism industry, we must understand what is required - the standards that must be met, the reliability of quantity, and quality. Tourism is itself a highly sophisticated and competitive industry which demands very high standards.  We live in an Information Age in which people are most discerning and demand value for money; standards therefore cannot be compromised.

Let us begin to think FOOD when we think and speak Agriculture. Let us begin to think of the many ways in which we can produce and supply the highest quality produce to the culinary artists, who will in turn convert these into most sumptuous meals that will register indelibly in the minds of our visitors. These shared experiences will bring other visitors to savour, first-hand, the finger-licking labba pepper pot, curry, roti, dholl, metem, etc., washed down with the very best fly, paiwari, cane juice or spirits of the cane, or just simple coconut water!