Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
July 14, 2025 – The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), a British Overseas Territory and associate member of CARICOM, continues to grapple with one of the region’s starkest trade imbalances — importing more than 90% of its food, fuel, and goods. With virtually no large-scale local agriculture and a near-total dependence on tourism, the country’s vulnerability to global supply chain shocks and climate events remains acute. Yet, recent efforts to explore hydroponics, local farm plots, and backyard gardening reflect a growing desire to align with regional and global food security ambitions.
That ambition found regional reinforcement last week at the 49th Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where food and nutrition security, climate finance, and sustainable development dominated the agenda.
Representing Turks and Caicos at the high-level meeting was Deputy Premier Jamell Robinson, who also serves as the Minister for Immigration and Border Security. His presence signaled the territory’s ongoing intent to strengthen its voice within the regional bloc, especially on key matters like food security and climate resilience.
CARICOM leaders approved the “Vision 25 by 2025+5” strategy — an expanded plan to reduce the region’s food import bill and bolster local production. Member states committed to enacting cross-cutting regional policies that support agriculture-related investment, movement of skilled labour, and new capital inflows. Special attention was given to increasing youth and women participation, a trend that has gained momentum across several countries including Guyana, which has emerged as the region’s food production leader.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali of Guyana, CARICOM’s lead on food and nutrition security, highlighted successful projects and reported notable progress in agricultural nursery capacity and community involvement.
For Turks and Caicos, the challenge is twofold: protecting its fragile natural environment — the bedrock of its tourism economy — while also diversifying its economy to include more sustainable food systems. The environmental imperative was echoed in CARICOM’s renewed call for robust climate action and finance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
CARICOM Heads also endorsed the revised Regional Climate Change Framework and pledged support for the upcoming Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit and COP30 as vehicles for securing meaningful adaptation and loss and damage financing for SIDS like TCI.
As Turks and Caicos cautiously seeds its path toward self-reliance in food and environmental stewardship, the regional direction is clear — resilience will require unity, innovation, and the will to move from intention to impact.
