PRIVA study: St. Maarten records lowest food self-sufficiency among Dutch Caribbean islands

THE HAGUE--St. Maarten has recorded the lowest level of food self-sufficiency among the six Dutch Caribbean islands assessed in a new baseline study by research agency PRIVA, with local production accounting for just 0.72% of the island’s measured food supply.

The finding places St. Maarten behind Saba at 4.62%, Aruba at 6.57%, Bonaire at 8.25%, Curaçao at 8.78% and St. Eustatius at 13.88%. The study was carried out ahead of the establishment of the CariFoodFund, a new financing instrument intended to strengthen food security, stimulate local production and support agricultural entrepreneurship across the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

According to the PRIVA baseline, St. Maarten’s food profile is shaped mainly by import dependence, tourism demand and its role as a regional logistics hub. The island’s food flows are not only imported for local consumption, but also bundled and forwarded within the region, making import systems and logistics organization dominant features of the local food supply.

The study notes that formal local production on St. Maarten is very limited in the baseline measurement. Where local production is visible, it is concentrated mainly in vegetables. However, PRIVA also cautions that the baseline likely underestimates small-scale and informal self-provisioning, because much of that activity is not formally registered or easily measurable.

The food balance shows local production of approximately 100,716 kilograms per year, compared to consumption of approximately 13.93 million kilograms per year, resulting in the overall self-sufficiency rate of 0.72%. Vegetables account for most of the recorded local production, with 59,794 kilograms per year, followed by fish at 22,400 kilograms, eggs at 12,672 kilograms and fruit at 5,850 kilograms.

The study also shows that St. Maarten’s measured self-sufficiency remains low across all major food categories. Vegetables stand at 2.03%, fruit at 0.28%, eggs at 1.15% and fish at 2.9%, while dairy and meat categories show no recorded local production within the scope of the baseline.

The report further highlights that St. Maarten’s available food stock through normal retail channels is heavily linked to imports. The average stock from imports is estimated at about 3.4 to 3.5 days, while local production adds only a very small buffer in most categories. For vegetables, the total estimated stock is 3.49 days, of which only 0.06 days comes from local production. For fruit, the total is 3.50 days, with 0.01 days linked to local production. Eggs show 3.52 days, with 0.11 days from local production.

The current resource use connected to St. Maarten’s local production is also modest. Within the baseline, current production uses an estimated 18,300 square meters of land, 4,274 cubic meters of water per year and 8,644 kilowatt-hours of energy per year. The report contrasts this with a full self-sufficiency reference scenario, which would require vastly larger inputs, including more than 208 million square meters of land, over 1 million cubic meters of water and more than 216 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year.

This comparison, according to the study, makes clear that full self-sufficiency is not a realistic near-term objective for every food group on small islands. For vegetables, eggs and fruit, further reinforcement is considered more feasible within the physical limits of the islands. For dairy and meat, those limits are reached much faster because of land, water, energy and production requirements.

The Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations informed the Second Chamber that the establishment of the CariFoodFund is expected before the summer recess. The fund will focus on strengthening food security in Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Entrepreneurs will be able to apply for financing for projects that contribute to improving food security and expanding local food production.

The CariFoodFund will be built around two pillars. The first is a revolving fund, with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations contributing 18 million euros in capital. The second consists of direct subsidies and contributions to local governments for food security initiatives, with 6 million euros reserved for that purpose.

The State Secretary said the fund must serve both existing small-scale entrepreneurs and new initiatives, while also leaving room for larger and more capital-intensive projects that can contribute to the long-term financial continuity of the fund. Private financiers, including banks and pension funds, are expected to be able to participate through loans.

The baseline study is intended to serve as a first measurement point, not as a final picture. PRIVA points out that registration is still limited, informal production is difficult to capture and more detailed data will be needed to monitor developments properly over time. The datasets were shared with the islands before the study was finalized, and their input was incorporated.

The State Secretary also noted that Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba are exploring further cooperation on import security and alternative trade routes. The joint umbrella organization Dutch Caribbean Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries Alliance (DCALFA) is also expected to hold another food security work conference on St. Maarten at the end of May, focusing on regional cooperation, trade, logistics, geopolitical developments and the further development of the CariFoodFund.

The results underline that St. Maarten’s food security challenge is not only about increasing local production, but also about understanding the limits of production, strengthening registration, improving monitoring and reducing vulnerability in the island’s import-dependent food system.

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