Factors affecting the value added by agricultural cooperatives in Saint Lucia: An institutional analysis

摘要

Saint Lucia is a small island developing state in the Caribbean region. Traditionally, agriculture has been the country's major export earner. In the early 1990s, agricultural exports accounted for 60% of the country's total export revenue, of which 96% was attributed to bananas and less than 3% to non-traditional crops (mango, hot pepper and avocado) (Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries, Cooperatives and Rural Development [MAFFCR], 2000, p. 3). The banana industry not only dominated agricultural land use but also the economic life of the country. However, banana production declined sharply after 1995 following the erosion of Saint Lucia's preferential access to the European Union (EU), its major export market. In the recent past, this decline was compounded by adverse weather and the prevalence of Black Sigatoka disease. These factors contributed to a substantial reduction in agriculture's share of the economy, from 20% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1986 to less than 3% in 2010 (International Development Bank [IDB], 2013, p. 12).