This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, www.idrc.ca, and with �nancial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Foreign A�airs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), www.international.gc.ca

Affaires étrangères, Commerceet Développement Canada

Foreign Affairs, Trade andDevelopment Canada

PROJECT GOAL: For CARICOM communities to meet the challenge of food and nutrition security, the region must focus on innovation. Institutions and infrastructure need to be reformed, and people must be more innovative to enhance domestic fresh food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability.

RESEARCH TOOLS: 1) Behavioural economics experiments to assess whether aversion to risk and ambiguity limits uptake of technology by individual farmers in Guyana and Peru; 2) Analysis of social networks to understand the farmers’ social capital and knowledge �ows among farming communities and national stakeholders in St. Lucia; and to assess changes in agriculture-food policy networks in Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia.

PROJECT OUTCOMES: Empirical data that supports the development of coherent, locally-speci�c and culturally relevant food security policies to enhance social and economic resilience in the Caribbean.

Bridging the Gap: Social Networks and Innovation Adoption in the Caribbean

Harnessing the Potential of Smallholder Farmers to Innovate

On-farm, Marquis, Saint Lucia On-farm, Marquis, Saint Lucia

Focus group setup, Saint Lucia Focus group, Saint Lucia Saint Lucia market

This Project is working to improve the design of government policies and programs to assist smallholder farmers to innovate and adapt to change. By better understanding and identifying social capital rooted within rural communities, the project has highlighted an untapped community resource that can be used to increase innovation and support farmer coordination.

In Black Bay, St. Lucia (n= 40) weak ties facilitate exchange of new information & innovation di�usion. In Marquis, St. Lucia (n=72)- strong ties foster group identity & cohesiveness) but less responsive to innovation & change.