St. Vincent and the Grenadines is another promising agricultural country. The main island, St. Vincent, is the largest of 150 islands and cays (the Grenadines), which are located to its south. Volcanic in nature, St. Vincent is forested and mountainous. Its fertile lands, forests and marine life are some of the island's best assets.
The country has had mixed economic performance in the last decade (2006 – 2016) and it has been noted that the agriculture and industrial sectors were declining while service sectors (Government services, wholesale retail trade, and financial services) were increasing in importance and relative contribution to GDP. Agriculture’s contribution to GDP declined from 12.55% in 1996 to 6.2% in 2013. Even with the decline of the island’s primary crop, banana, due to the dismantling of the special European Union access arrangements, agriculture remains the major economic contributor and source of employment. The country’s agro processing/value-adding sector is performing well. There is room for investment.
As outlined in the St. Vincent & the Grenadines National Economic and Social Development Plan 2013-2025, government is committed to diversifying the industry by investing in modern technology and by creating linkages with sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.
Government also aims to expand and encourage private sector investment in agro-processing, encourage entrepreneurship among farmers, and increase youth involvement in the sector through training and access to land. There is an effort to diversify crop production beyond bananas to include coconuts, arrowroot and root crops such as cassava, yams and sweet potatoes.
The mountainous terrain and small size are restrictive to large scale farming. As a result the majority of agricultural activities take place on small farmer holdings.
The livestock industry consists of small ruminants (sheep and goats). Chicken is also produced but imports of chicken meat exceed local production.
St. Vincent is a beneficiary of the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF). Through this, the Republic of China-Taiwan provides humanitarian aid, technical assistance, education and training and loans and investments to the industry.
Crops primarily produced in St. Vincent include: