Zero Waste Farming

Small farms have played a large role in reducing hunger globally but staying competitive against larger agribusiness and other, more lucrative sectors perennially places small farming in peril. My research and business partner, Dr. Leighton Naraine and I have developed a zero waste farming concept that includes research; gradual investment in technology, agriculture inputs, and locally-based retail centers; and marketing plans to diversify operations into manufacturing and service.  As we work to scale up into livestock production, we have struggle to find affordable, reliable livestock feed. Our solution is to create our own livestock feed production, initially by creating a link between rice producers in Guyana and small farm co-ops in St. Kitts-Nevis. Along with this link, we are leveraging our own capital to invest in technology needed to produce nutrient-rich feed locally. Zero waste farming can transform and secure food supplies and livelihoods in the Caribbean and globally.  

The problem we are addressing is the difficulty of scaling up zero waste diversified and integrated small farming in the Caribbean to include livestock production. Perennially, this sector--livestock production--proves unsuccessful due to problems in the supply chain for livestock feed. Feed sources are distant (Dominican Republic, Trinidad, St. Vincent), expensive because of shipping costs and import tariffs, and unreliable.  There are fifteen farmers in the LACOS co-op, and approximately two hundred famers total in St. Kitts, nearly all operating on farms of less than 50 acres.

Our solution is to establish local livestock feed production by building a linkage between rice producers in Guyana and small farmers in St. Kitts-Nevis.  Rice is a key ingredient both for its grains and its by-products and the addition of protein rich fish offal from fish farming in St. Kitts will combine to make a nutrient-rich feed produced locally. We are investing in a steam boiler and pelletizer to produce the feed.  

Our immediate target is the fifteen small farmers in the Liamuiga Agriculture Cooperative Society (LACOS) in Cayon, St. Kitts, as well as rice producers in Guyana.  Beyond that, we will be able to produce and market livestock feed to additional famrers and co-ops in St. Kitts-Nevis. Our solution comes from working together with the farmers in LACOS and other co-ops and talking through the problem of livestock production. Because the problem and solution has come from the farmers themselves, and because they are directly involved in implementing this project, we are confident that we have engaged them and that this solution addresses their needs.  

Our problem is the threat to small farming posed by poor supply chain options, particularly when it comes to livestock feed. Building our own local livestock feed operation  addresses this problem while allowing us to preserve and expand the practice of zero waste farming. We target small farmers in the Caribbean directly, but their success in producing livestock feed locally will have a multiplier effect far beyond that specific sector.

Using non-traditional livestock feed production technology to produce high-quality feed locally and utilizing farm and non-farm waste to enhance farm productivity in the Caribbean.

Modified diesel engine powered by #2 fuel (waste motor oil) that operates a steam generator and pressurized steam cooker to render the various ingredients into livestock feed.

It's been tested in a pilot project funded by OAS in Grenada (see Naraine, p. 113 for details).

Change must be structural, and we take a structural approach to change in agriculture. This means moving from conventional technology typically used for industrialized models of agriculture to non-conventional technology that is scalable from small- to medium- and large- scale enterprises (including agroprocessing and agricultural services).

currently: 17

one year: 50

five years: 200+

With adequate funding we expect to establish livestock feed processing in St. Kitts-Nevis, leading to expanded livestock production.

Goals for the five-year timeframe include reducing food imports by expanding local livestock production, further diversifying into livestock processing, and promoting/expanding this model of zero waste farming through regional and global consultations.

Without question the biggest hurdle is funding to acquire, set up and operate livestock feed processing. Our combined capital resources can provide partial but not complete funding for the travel and equipment/technology needed to implement this plan for local livestock feed. Lenders, meanwhile, tend to support conventional technologies and view non-conventional and innovative approaches like ours with uncertainty.

Leveraging our own capital with targeted fundraising appeals through grant opportunities, development bank opportunities, and potential investment partners.

Community-based organization (CBO)

2 primary + 2 from LACOS = 2 private partners

The team combines professional background in research and innovation, project and policy planning, business development, agriculture and environment adaptations, and hands-on small farming.

St. Kitts Department and Ministry of Agriculture, St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Taiwanese Diplomatic Mission to St. Kitts-Nevis, Guyana Minister of Agriculture, Organization of American States.  All these organizations help articulate our project with respect to supply chains, community engagement, private sector engagement, and proof of concept.

Public-private partnership.

Implementation of sustainable food systems through zero waste farming in the Caribbean.

We are particularly interested in partnering with an Agricultural Engineering specialist who can help provide standards oversight