The smallest country in the Western Hemisphere, St. Kitts and Nevis is a dual island volcanic nation in the Caribbean, gaining independence from England in 1983. A 1998 referendum to separate Nevis from St. Kitts was unsuccessful.

The Country and the Region

St. Kitts and Nevis is a member of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), an organization of 21 small developing countries, most of which are island states. CARICOM describes itself as “the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world”—over 50 years strong—fostering “functional cooperation” in health, education, security and culture. This includes single market functions and a coordinated foreign policy.

Economy

St. Kitts and Nevis’s poverty headcount rate in 2022 was 21.8%, despite having one of the highest GDP per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean (an increase of 16% from the previous year). Like other countries in this region, St. Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to drought, and to an increase in the frequency and severity of climate hazards, in particular hurricanes. In addition, COVID-19 negatively impacted the country’s tourism-dependent economy.

Hunger and Nutrition

A decade ago, the government implemented a Poverty Reduction Strategy to address hunger in the islands. The strategy was to redistribute resources more equitably, strengthen public, private and community organizations, invest in social services and empower vulnerable groups.

While current data on hunger in the country are not available, the 2022 Global Nutrition Report reported that St. Kitts and Nevis were “off course” in terms of maternal, infant and young child nutrition targets, with insufficient data to assess progress on its other indicators. Of 10 national nutrition policies, the only policy implemented was a sugar-sweetened beverage tax. Of 11 global nutrition targets, St. Kitts and Nevis had a national policy addressing only the reduction of salt/sodium intake.

25 by 25: Reducing Food Import Dependency

The CARICOM region is dependent on food imports, and this is true of St. Kitts and Nevis. This dependency is behind CARICOM’s Vision 25 by 25, a plan to address the region’s increasing food import bill. A long-term partnership has been created between CARICOM countries and the private sector, regional organizations, producers, development partners and civil society to transform the region’s agri-food systems. Furthermore, the goal five years ago was to create resilience and sustainability, ultimately guaranteeing food and nutrition security for the CARICOM countries.

In 2019 (prior to St. Kitts and Nevis’s participation), the CARICOM heads of government conceived of the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), which was initiated in 2020. In response to an “urgent call” for a 25% reduction of the extra-regional food import bill before 2025, CPSO’s response was the 25 by 25 initiative, targeting the “displacement” of $418.8 million of extra-regional agri-food imports.

25 by 25 in St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis has identified the root cause of its import dependency to rest in imperfect land cultivation and the poor business practices of both farmers and vendors. One approach the Ministry of Agriculture is taking is to work with a local community college to train farmers in the best use of produce and in becoming more business oriented. Indeed, in noting that food sustainability requires year-round food production and education in “smart farming,” in 2023, officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture met with crop and livestock farmers to develop a basis for the Government’s participation in the 25 by 25 initiative, aimed at decreasing the country’s food import bill and increasing food security.

Supporting this effort, the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture in St. Kitts and Nevis on its 25 by 25 Agenda.

In February 2025, Hon. Samal Duggins, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources discussed one initiative to tackle the country’s $198 million food import bill: an export “niche” project focusing on hot peppers to the Tabasco company. The export niche focus means training farmers in their crop of choice and then addressing crop-specific land preparation, seed choice, time of planting, pest and disease management, harvest and post-harvest management, processing, sales and marketing, in other words, the complete value chain.

Predicting the Future

It remains to be seen whether the many efforts to reduce hunger in St. Kitts and Nevis by transforming the country’s local food production, will fulfill Minister Duggins’s prediction that the country will become the “food mecca of the Leeward Islands,” thanks to the 25 by 25 Agenda.

– Staff Reports
Photo: Flickr