Migration, Small Farming and Food Security in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines
| Author | Elizabeth Thomas‐Hope |
| Published date | 01 August 2017 |
| Date | 01 August 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12298 |
Migration, Small Farming and Food Security
in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent
and the Grenadines
Elizabeth Thomas-Hope*
ABSTRACT
Long-term and short-term (seasonal) migrations from Caribbean countries have been strategies
for enhancing the livelihoods and assets of individuals and families for many decades. The
greatest challenges to food security are felt by the populations below the poverty level, most
of whom are rural dwellers. Taking two Caribbean countries –Jamaica, and St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, this article assesses whether in rural, characteristically small-farming areas, the
financial and social remittances resulting from migration are used to improve food security,
through either supporting agricultural production or providing money to purchase food. The
findings show the contrast between Jamaica and St. Vincent. Whereas migration generally ben-
efits small-scale farming and domestic food production, increasing food accessibility in
Jamaica, migration has been variously used by the rural poor in St. Vincent to replace farming.
Food security in St. Vincent is heavily dependent on purchasing food and, in this regard,
migrant remittances play an important role.
INTRODUCTION
Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (hereafter usually referred to in this article as ‘St. Vin-
cent’) were selected to demonstrate the comparative situation of Caribbean States regarding the role
of migration in small farming and food security strategies. Jamaica and St. Vincent are of contrast-
ing size and rural-urban characteristics. Jamaica is an island with an area of 10,990 square kilome-
tres (4,240 sq. mi.) and a population of 2.8 million people (STATIN, 2012), with Kingston the
capital city. St. Vincent is comprised of the main volcanic, mountainous island, St. Vincent,
344 km
2
(133 sq. mi.) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines which are a chain of small
islands stretching south from St. Vincent to Grenada, with a combined landmass of 45 km
2
(17 sq. mi.). The country, whose the capital is Kingstown, has a population of approximately
103,220 (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 2012). (Figure 1).
Migration
Net migration rates from Jamaica and St. Vincent have been generally high since the 1950s, with
an excess of emigration over immigration (represented by the negative figures in Table 1). The rate
was calculated as the net number of migrants per 1,000 of the population. The high emigration
rates from the decade of the 1950s and 1960s can be explained by the post-World War II
* University of the West Indies
doi: 10.1111/imig.12298
©2017 The Author
International Migration ©2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (4) 2017
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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