- SVG increases efforts to grow its hot pepper industry.
Building on the country’s ambitions to enhance food production and commerce, governmental and private sector stakeholders in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have chosen two key crops for further growth in coming years.
Dasheen, a staple crop in the country, was first identified as a suitable commodity for development by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labour as part of a two-year project funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ Technical Cooperation Programme. The project Promoting Windward Islands Food Production and Trade Corridor through National and Regional Value Chain Development, which began in 2023, seeks for the selection of an additional commodity having the best potential for balancing demand and supply during the course of the project.
During a recent value chain selection workshop held electronically, stakeholders from the public and private sectors chose hot pepper as the second product from a list of six crops with high potential and readiness for scaling up. Sweet potato, plantain, hot pepper, coconut, mango, and breadfruit were examined by stakeholders with the assistance of FAO Trade Development Consultant Jai Rampersad. Hot pepper was chosen as the crop with the greatest export potential.
The stakeholders agreed on the importance of identifying hot pepper types to be produced as well as filling some of the market gaps that would be required to assure the commodity’s viability.
Ensuring consistency in production of the selected variety was also viewed as critical to the success of the chosen value chain.
Representatives from the Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture and Development Organisation (ECTAD), the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN), regional exporters Vincy Fresh, and foreign exporters all made specific interventions throughout the event.
Pure Caribbean Distributors; and Seasons Farm Fresh, Inc. From the public sector, representatives from various agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labour shared their perspectives on the country’s commodity performance and opportunities for increased production and export.
FAO Trade and Markets Officer for the Caribbean and Lead Technical Officer for the project, Juan Cheaz Pelaez, stated that “the country’s selection of hot peppers indicates a readiness to strengthen this second value chain in the context of the project.” A national team may now take a more active role in implementing a market-driven strategy to value chain development, thereby increasing agricultural competitiveness and resilience. We are working not just on production, but also on boosting government institutional capacity and improving cooperation between the public and commercial sectors to ensure a long-term and healthy hot pepper value chain.”
Over the next year, Rampersad and the FAO Caribbean value chains team will assist stakeholders in assessing the hot pepper sector’s performance, calculating production costs, and finding possibilities and restrictions, as well as how to best address them. These studies will inform the formulation of an upgrade plan and the design of pilot programmes to begin implementing certain priority enhancements, with the participation and assistance of public and private sector stakeholders. The plan acts as a blueprint for collaborative participation of value chain actors to sustain implementation beyond the project.
