Food security in Puerto Rico
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2024
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Caribbean island imports around 90% of its food and by law only US ships can be used to transport it – which pushes up the price.
We speak to islanders who think that needs to change, and are pushing for Puerto Rico to become more self sufficient.
Weather events like Hurricane Maria, which left many without power and water for months, have brought the issue to the forefront once again.
We meet a new generation who are leading the way, using new technology to try and make it easier, and cheaper, for people to buy local and rely less on imports.
Produced and presented by Jane Chambers
(Image: Puerto Rican farmer Fernando Maldonado. Credit: Jane Chambers)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I was one of many people that were victims who was used by somebody who was psychopathic. |
| 0:06.3 | Let's tell this story. |
| 0:08.3 | World of Secrets, Season 2, The Disciples. |
| 0:12.1 | Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. |
| 0:17.3 | Welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:24.5 | I'm Jane Chambers. Today, food security in Puerto Rico. |
| 0:28.8 | Why this Caribbean island wants to start growing more food for itself. |
| 0:38.6 | In the 40s, 50s, we used to grow a lot of food here. But now it's almost like 90% from the outside and 10% from here. |
| 0:39.3 | It's not right. |
| 0:43.4 | The island was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Maria in 2017. |
| 0:46.3 | We didn't have power for nine months. |
| 0:49.8 | And because we didn't have power, we didn't have water for nine months because our community is so high that we need five pumps to pull the water up. |
| 0:54.9 | How do you eat? Where do you store your food? |
| 0:58.2 | And then you end up eating all these canned, ultra-processed food just to survive. |
| 1:03.6 | We hear from a new generation coming up with different ways to make the island more self-reliant. |
| 1:08.9 | The story of Puerto Rico's push for a food revolution, |
| 1:12.2 | that's all coming up in today's business daily. |
| 1:20.1 | It's Sunday morning, and local farmer, Oswald Lopez, |
| 1:23.8 | is showing me his stall at the organic farmers market |
| 1:26.7 | in Puerto Rican capital, San Juan. |
| 1:29.4 | Producers come from all over the island to sell their wares. |
| 1:33.1 | We bring parsley, celery, kale, different kinds of kale, curly cubs, cucumbers, celery, lettuce, arugula. |
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