Leaders call for national plan to tackle rising food costs

Political leaders Ronnie Skelton and Marlon Penn are calling on the government to urgently adopt a national plan to address the rising cost of food as residents struggle to afford basic necessities.

Skelton and Penn warned that without swift and strategic action, the territory could face serious food security challenges driven by global trade policies and local inaction.

“We have to, on a national level now, have a focus in terms of how we’re going to do those main things that are important to the people of the country,” Penn stated.

He highlighted the need for all 13 elected members of the House of Assembly to work together, regardless of political affiliation, to find solutions to the high cost of living. “Before you talk about jumping this and joining that and doing all of that, all 13 of us need to sit down, discuss on how this issue of tariffs is going to affect us… Food costs, as they are, already escalated to a point where many persons can’t afford,” he explained.

The former ministers proposed that the BVI look to small territories such as Jersey in the Channel Islands for ideas on agricultural self-sufficiency. “We drove around Jersey. We saw every little free acre of land filled with potatoes… Why can’t we figure out what can BVI do well?” Penn asked.

Penn, a former Minister of Health, also noted that the territory already has the resources to expand local food production, particularly in poultry and short crops. “We have one of the most sophisticated processing plants anywhere in the region right here in the BVI,” Penn asserted.

Skelton further suggested that the government should fund and direct local farmers to grow specific foods based on scientific studies of the soil. “Let’s encourage people to do more poultry… the quick things. Three to six months, you can have them to the market,” he said.

Both leaders argued that subsidies similar to those used in the United Kingdom and United States are necessary to make agriculture viable for BVI farmers. “The bottom line is that we don’t have a plan,” Penn stated. “We need to have a plan and a focus in terms of where we’re going to go with agriculture in the territory.”

Their comments follow concerns raised by residents and elected officials over increasing food prices and a lack of consistent policy direction in the agriculture sector. Residents have repeatedly complained of rising grocery bills and food shortages, prompting renewed calls for investment in local farming and food security systems.