Resist! Food Sovereignty in Puerto Rico
Problem Space
The history of food production in Puerto Rico is intimately attached to the colonial history of the island. The island comes from a history of monoculture of sugarcane and coffee, implemented during the Spanish empire in the nineteenth century to the first half of the 20th century under US ruling. Monoculture, controlled by the US agro-industry, displaced other types of farming, some that come from the taíno heritage, like “conucos” (small garden).
Around the mid-20th century, the landscape of production on the island changed. The strategy shifted towards manufacturing-oriented labor. The concept of being a “jibaro” (as the farmer was called in Puerto Rico) was devalued. These changes benefitted other food producers mostly outside of Puerto Rico.
Nowadays, the island imports at least 85 % of all its food products. This dependency was the cause of scarcity after hurricane Maria, when shipments were not able to arrive at the island in the hurricane aftermath.
Puerto Rico does not even have a large agro-industry (compared to other countries). Even then, what is produced in the agro-industry on the island (plantain, pineapples, ex.) is mostly for exportation. Although there could be a willingness to sponsor local production, for consumers it is hard to compete with the low cost of the imports to the island. This makes farmers lower the price of their production to be able to compete with importation. During the last decade, driven by a revaluation of our complex cultural and political situation, there is interest in the revival of local produce. This is an opportunity to re-evaluate consumer habits and how this affects the sustainability of the island.
Question
How to strengthen small farm production and consumer sovereignty in Puerto Rico?
Possible solutions
For this problem, I propose two concepts that could contribute to the solution.
Designing to Reconnect
A platform that improves visibility, connecting restaurants and local markets with small farms and local producers.
A platform for farmers and local food producers that directly connects the consumers with the farms. This directory would serve as a direct link between restaurants and small markets, and the inventory from local producers. This platform would have information about seasonal production and how to maintain more sustainable consumer habits.
Compost Exchange
A service that makes use of composted organic material produced by consumers, in exchange for produce or discounts in produce. This would be a small scale project to increase the visibility of local production and improve relations between consumers and farmers. In this way, the service would be a tool for education as well as increasing the consumption of local agroecology.
