Sector Studies

Future for Agriculture
in the OECS Countries

Rural Sector Note

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World Bank
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Rome, 2005

ABSTRACT

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries share a number of common features including fragile ecosystems, historical dependence of agriculture on a few key export commodities and a domestic private sector very limited in human resources and financial capacity. This report, prepared by the FAO Investment Centre on request of the World Bank, is based on an extensive review of available information on OECS agriculture and visits to review development projects in rural areas initiated by private investors which could be of interest to the design of future agricultural sector development strategies. The objective of the report is to provide additional thoughts to the ongoing debate on the future for OECS agriculture and the broader issue of regional strategies.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

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