Farming for Change: Piloting Sustainable Agriculture

St. Croix’s food system can be viewed through three lenses: economic, environmental, and social. It is a system primarily reliant on imports with 97% of food products being brought in from elsewhere.1 The inflated prices for an economically vulnerable population can be detrimental regarding food access as well as the local agricultural industry on the island. As of 2012, 23% of the island’s population was receiving SNAP benefits2 and this can only be expected to have risen after the recent shocks the island has experienced.

From an environmental perspective, the island’s tropical climate and rich soils make it suitable for agriculture. Yet, climate change is expected to make St. Croix 12% more vulnerable to water stress by 2041.3 This may warrant significant changes to irrigation practices and crop species selection.

Socially, there are many agricultural resources on the island, as well as a strong culture surrounding food and cooking. However, reduced coordination between stakeholders presents barriers to agriculture and food security. Currently, the most prominently produced crops on the island are cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, and bananas. The island consumes a lot of starchy produce such as breadfruit, cassava, and yams, which could potentially be grown more locally.

St. Croix has a long standing and complicated history with agriculture tied to its colonial past. The island’s history of sugarcane production, weaved through its relationship to colonization and loss of autonomy, is one that still shadows the agricultural industry. Thus, while climate-sensitive farming has a lot to offer the island, community engagement is also integral to successfully overcoming this social stigma.

Goals

While addressing all contributing factors to farming and food access is outside this project’s scope, five goals guide the pilot farming initiative and corresponding strategies:

1. Improve food security and economic self sufficiency

2. Grow culturally relevant, health, and affordable food in a resilient and sustainable way

3. Increase accessibility to farming for all age and economic groups

4. Facilitate culturally grounded knowledge exchange around the local food system

5. Increase coordination among stakeholders

Vision

The sustainable farming pilot attempts to strengthen the community food system with an emphasis on the unique Crucian culture. These five goals ultimately work towards an overarching vision to:

Site Analysis

To understand which parts of the island are well-suited to a pilot farming project that serves socially vulnerable residents, the nine criteria on the above graphic were analyzed. While ultimately a site must be selected with community needs first in mind, understanding which areas are ideal for farming, are near vulnerable demographic groups, and are away from environmental hazard areas can help narrow the list of available options. Using these criteria ensures that the chosen pilot location is both viable for farming, accessible, and resilient in the face of climate change.

Site Selection

When viewed together, these factors reveal three main areas of the island that are well suited to farming. The area on the island’s Southeastern shore only has one existing farm but is not in a socially vulnerable area. Most of St. Croix’s prime farmland is on the island’s central plain, but because of this fact it is already well-served by farms and farmers markets, as the above map shows. This leaves the final area near Frederiksted which is both not full of existing farms and has high social vulnerability, meaning it stands to benefit from increased food security and community programming.

Analysis from the existing conditions section of this book shows that

Frederiksted’s population is among the island’s 10% most socially vulnerable.

Frederiksted is located on the western coast of St. Croix. It is bordered by a series of beaches and is home to the only cruise ship port on the island. It is also a historic site of resistance to slavery, a history which is kept alive through the efforts of CHANT, a local organization dedicated to Crucian heritage. With a community and culture approach, a farming location with the intention of providing a means to uplift and connect residents in a way that helps increase food resilience in the local community while leveraging existing land and knowledge could become an asset for the town and one day for the island.

Site Characteristics

The chosen site is a 145 acre parcel located less than two miles east of Frederiksted. It is relatively flat and lies above an aquifer which makes irrigation viable. A gut bifurcates on the site, meaning flooding is a risk where it travels, but most of the site is high and dry. Guts can also provide an opportunity for rainwater collection and aquifer infiltration. Locating critical programs like buildings outside of the flood zone and near the road naturally organizes the site into two zones: a four-acre community campus and 32 acres of farmland.

Zone 1: Community Campus

The farm site is intended to be available as a space for the Frederiksted community to access agricultural resources through community-led food production and an exchange of local farming knowledge. In short, it is meant to be a hub for agriculturerelated economic and community development. The community campus encompasses a four-acre campus with seven components including space for composting, community gathering, tool storage, aquaponics, food processing and storage, and a community kitchen. These resources are intended to directly support the community by decolonizing the agriculture industry via increased. community ownership and selfsufficiency.

Operations, Gathering, and Resource Space

Aligned with its cooperative nature, the site contains spaces for community gatherings that lend themselves to various events and knowledge exchanges. These spaces include outdoor classrooms, raised beds for small-scale plant cultivation, and indoor meeting and operations spaces for farmers and partners. These spaces are intended to provide a location for increased collaboration among stakeholders and for the formation of new partnerships and resources.

Community Kitchen, Processing, and Storage

A community kitchen allows Frederiksted residents to take part in the budding tourism industry on the island. Combining locally grown food with tourist experiences offers an opportunity to capture tourism dollars that would otherwise be spent on imported foods and honor local producers and culture. The community kitchen can also help farmers preserve their crops for distribution or for times of need. When the 2017 hurricanes hit, food shortages were common as most of the supply relied on ports that were also impacted. There is also a space for storing emergency food supplies in preparation for future natural disasters. Together these can improve self-sufficiency and food security in Frederiksted.

Equipment Sharing

One of the most prominent barriers to accessing the agriculture industry in St Croix is the cost and storage of farming equipment. Providing shared access to tools and machinery as well as a place to keep it during times of natural disasters offers security and improves access to those interested in entering the agriculture industry.

Reusing Organic Waste

Composting presents the opportunity to divert organic waste from landfills and turn it into plant food. Abundant sargassum and the flexibility of composting offers an opportunity to produce fertilizer on site while relieving pressure on the island’s waste management system.

Aquaponics

Aquaponics is the production of plants and animals within the same space. This often takes place in a tank where fish fertilize water for plants which in turn clean the water for the fish. The advantages of aquaponics include efficient water use, reduced chemical additives, and high yields regardless of soil availability. Its resilience draws from its efficient use of limited resources and the opportunity for indoor farming that can withstand natural disaster.

Zone 2: Farming

The farming area is designated for the cultivation of eight resilient and culturally relevant crop species to pilot the following sustainable farming practices.

Water Collection and Distribution

One of the biggest challenges on the island is its susceptibility to severe drought and limited access to fresh water. Fortunately, the site is above an aquifer, which allows for well access. Additionally, a water retention basin can capture water from the guts that run through the site for irrigation. Collecting rainwater from rooftops and storing it in cisterns allows for an additional source. These redundant water collection methods allow the site to continue cultivation and maintain self-sufficiency through water shortages. An aquifer preservation plan should be developed to maintain water security into the future.

Sustainable Farming Practices

The species and practices chosen for the site will support a sustainable food system and ensure resilience in future conditions. This includes making best use of site resources and highlighting the island’s native biodiversity.

Crop Selection

Eight crops were selected to be grown on site based on a series of criteria (see chapter Appendix) including water requirements compared to St Croix’s annual rainfall; resistance to shocks including flooding, drought, wind, and high heat; commercial value; nativity to the Caribbean ecosystem; and cultural relevance. These crops are guava, Indian yam, tamarind, cassava, dragon fruit, Indian fig opuntia, and breadfruit. These are versatile crops that can be used to promote Crucian cuisine and are resistant to harsh conditions. Additionally, they are likely to have high yields in the island’s environmental conditions.