As their market shrinks and their income falls, many small-scale farmers in the Windward Islands are abandoning their land and either moving to the towns or emigrating. Richer farmers are moving in to take over these vacant plots. Two thirds of the 25,000 growers have stopped exporting bananas since 1993. The farmers are looking to reduce their dependence on bananas. Switching from bananas will not be easy, and the search for markets for other crops has so far had very limited success.
Tourism is an option that is being explored.
In St. Lucia it is rapidly overtaking bananas as the island s main industry. However, most of the profits of tourism do not remain in the host country. All-inclusive resorts, where tourists pay in advance in their home country a fixed price for their food and accommodation, are becoming the most common type of resort. Most of these resorts are not locally owned or even managed, and they often import their food from the nearby United States. Supporting the development of a fair trade banana initiative would be a contribution to resolving the impending crisis.