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How corn links Jamaica’s food supply to climate change in the US Midwest

This case study explores how Jamaica’s deep dependency on US maize affects both its economy and food security in a changing climate.
Multiple Authors
    1063 Page views
  • 23rd Nov 2021
  • 3 min read
A grain bin full of corn after the destruction of a derecho in 2020. Photo: Phil Roeder / Flickr.

Introduction

This story is repostedfrom the Stockholm Environment Institute website. It is part of a set of 4 case studies on transboundary climate risks which can be accessed here.

Corn (maize) is a staple of Caribbean diets. In Jamaica, cornmeal porridge, made sweet and creamy with coconut milk and condensed milk, is a breakfast tradition. Richly seasoned corn on the cob is a favourite side dish and the chickens that Jamaicans love to grill in spicy jerk sauce – they are also raised on corn. Some of the grain is grown locally, but the vast majority comes from the US: more than 87% of the roughly 320 000 metric tons it consumes per year. This is not surprising: The small island has limited agricultural land and the US is both Jamaica’s top trade partner and by far the world’s top maize exporter. However, in a changing climate, this deep dependency on US maize poses both economic and food security risks for Jamaica. A recent SEI analysis found that in proportion to its total supply, Jamaica is the largest importer of risk through bilateral trade of maize in the world.