Growing cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

It is estimated that the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean, with a population of just over 100,000, has more than 2,500 cannabis cultivators, mainly in the foothills of La Soufrière Volcano. After the demise of the banana economy in the early 21st Century, marijuana has become a safety net for many islanders.

Marijuana cultivation is initially attractive because three crops can be produced each year, with small holders earning up to US$10,000. After harvest, the marijuana is transported to the coast and sold to exporters, many from nearby islands. This is a risky business, with farmers often cheated by traders, arrested by security forces or robbed by rivals or pirates at sea.

Illicit drugs export has exposed the government to international pressure. Eradication exercises, supported in 1998 and 1999 by United States military helicopters, have pushed farmers further up the mountains, causing deforestation, the loss of topsoil, the silting up of rivers and marine sedimentation.

In the late 1990s, with an increase in rural poverty, urban crime and the importation of cocaine, marijuana farmers staged organised protests. A new government promised change and has engaged with marijuana cultivators through an Integrated Forest Management Programme. The programme promotes the sustainable use of forest resources and alternative livelihoods for marijuana planters.

The scheme has had some success in getting farmers into alternative work such as charcoal burning. Farmers are happy to trade in the profits from marijuana for the security of alternatives. However, after being arrested on marijuana possession charges, many are unable to find employment in the service sector or to emigrate: the traditional exit strategy for rural poor people across the Caribbean.

Combined law enforcement measures have had unintended consequences:

• They have created a class of disenfranchised young men with few alternatives in the legal economy.
• In the hills, farmers face chronic insecurity, and have little opportunity to leave the marijuana economy.
• Eradication is driving farmers further into the rain forest.

Policymakers need to shift their focus from the illicit drug to developing alternative livelihoods, managing forest resources and engaging with young people. Options include:

• a ban on all cultivation above 1,000 feet and in low lying water catchment areas
• recruit marijuana farmers into reforestation activities
• train farmers in forest resources management and alternative crops
• divert young and drug offenders from prison and rehabilitate them in the community to prevent reoffending.

In the past development partners have concentrated upon eradication and law enforcement at the expense of alternative development. Donor agencies must engage with the main cultivators and carefully consider the livelihoods of rural communities, while intervening in urban areas to prevent the steady trickle of young offenders into the marijuana hill farms.

Axel Klein
Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7PD, UK
T +44 (0) 1227 824090
F +44 (0) 1227 824054
a.klein@kent.ac.uk

See also

'The Ganja Industry and Alternative Development in St. Vincent and the Grenadines', by Axel Klein, pages 224-244, in Caribbean Drugs, From Criminalization to Harm Reduction, London: Zed, edited by Axel Klein, Marcus Day and Anthony Harriott, 2004

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