Scoping mission identifies climate-smart tools and practices to enhance productivity, efficiency, and resilience in the local vegetable sector 

October 22, 2025 – Castries, Saint Lucia – The primary objective of the scoping mission, conducted from 25 to 29 August 2025, was to assess the needs and opportunities for implementing sustainable agricultural mechanization for the vegetable sector in Saint Lucia. The mission was part of the project titled “Climate Smart Agriculture and Integrated Crop Management to Boost Vegetable Production in Saint Lucia”, and led by Mr Jelle van Loon, an FAO expert in Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization and held in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Despite favourable growing conditions for crops in Saint Lucia, access to fresh vegetables remains a critical challenge due to land, labor, and tenure constraints which can contribute to the cost of vegetables doubling twice that of the global average. However, farming remains a valuable economic driver for the island for many producers, while contributing to its national food security goals and providing local staples for the tourism sector. 

Through this project the island is exploring practical solutions to address these challenges, particularly labor bottlenecks, through  sustainable, scale-appropriate mechanization. The initiative focuses on labor-intensive, repetitive tasks such as land preparation and mulching, introducing equipment suitable for small plots, including hand-held and walk-behind motorized tools. The goal is to improve farm efficiency and profitability while strengthening local and regional food supply chains. 

In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO is evaluating market demand for mechanization hire services and developing tailored technology packages across the vegetable value chain from production (land preparation, sowing, seedlings, weeding, spraying) to post-harvest (harvesting, packing, cold chain, and agro-processing). The mission will also identify training needs in sustainable mechanization, covering safe operation, maintenance, repairs, and basic business skills, to ensure the technology is effectively adopted. These efforts are expected to enhance production standards and quality control, supporting both domestic consumption and potential export opportunities. 

Mr Jelle van Loon who led the mission stated, “Sustainable mechanization is not just about introducing machines, it is about building local capacity, service systems, and skills that make the technology accessible and reliable for smallholders”. 

Mr Winston Elliott, project focal point at the Ministry of Agriculture expressed, “We’re very pleased with the collaboration during this mission. The exercise provided key insights into improving efficiency and productivity in the sector. Building on these findings, the Ministry in collaboration with the FAO, will design pilot projects to test sustainable mechanization solutions and make them part of Saint Lucia’s wider food system transformation.” 

Based on the mission’s findings, pilot projects will be implemented to validate small-scale mechanization solutions and demonstrate their impact on farm productivity and resilience.