ROAD TOWN, Tortola — The Virgin Islands will once again put its farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs and local producers in the spotlight when the 2027 Virgin Islands Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition and Market returns from February 26 to 28, 2027.

The public is being asked to save the date for the three-day event, which will bring together members of the agricultural and fisheries communities and the wider public in celebration of two sectors that Government has increasingly identified as critical to the Territory’s food security, economic resilience and sustainability.

Further details about the 2027 programme are expected to be released as the event approaches.

But while the annual exhibition provides an opportunity to celebrate local producers, the event comes against a much larger conversation about the future of agriculture and fisheries in the Virgin Islands.

More than a farmers’ market

The Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition and Market has grown considerably from the traditional Farmers and Fishers’ Week concept.

In recent years, the programme has expanded to include exhibitions, markets, educational activities, farm tours, fishing competitions, demonstrations, discussions and opportunities for entrepreneurs to showcase locally produced goods.

In 2024, for example, activities were spread throughout March and included exhibitions and markets on Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Tortola and Jost Van Dyke, along with a symposium on regenerative farming, agricultural education activities, a gourmet dinner featuring local products, farm tours and the Wahoo Mania Fishing Tournament. 

The 2025 programme similarly featured exhibitions and markets across the Territory, with Government describing the activities as opportunities for local farmers, fishers and other stakeholders to showcase their work, connect with consumers and explore more sustainable approaches to food production.

The event has therefore become more than an opportunity to buy local produce.

It has become a public showcase for what the Virgin Islands can produce for itself.

Food security remains the bigger issue

The importance of that conversation has increased as the Territory continues to grapple with its dependence on imported food.

Government has repeatedly acknowledged that increasing local production is necessary to strengthen the Territory’s resilience to external shocks.

In 2025, Government’s budget priorities included training young farmers and fishers, promoting modern farming techniques, improving irrigation, assigning additional agricultural land and restoring wells and other infrastructure necessary for farming. 

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries identifies its mission as ensuring the sustainable production, harvesting and supply of safe, high-quality food while regulating the agricultural and fisheries sectors. Its stated vision is for the department to be the key agency for sustainable food security in the Virgin Islands. 

That ambition, however, faces familiar challenges.

The Territory has limited land available for agriculture, a relatively small farming community, high production costs and significant dependence on imported food.

The fishing industry faces its own challenges, including the cost of equipment and operations, sustainability of marine resources and the need for modern facilities.

A sector Government says it wants to rebuild

The current push is not new.

In 2021, then Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, while updating the House of Assembly on agriculture and fisheries, acknowledged that progress in some areas had been slow but said Government intended to provide more sustained support.

At the time, Government was working toward the establishment of an Agriculture and Fisheries Marketing Authority and envisioned repurposing the BVI Fishing Complex to accommodate agricultural produce and other value-added products from local farmers and fishers. 

That vision has since developed further.

The Virgin Islands Food Security and Sustainability Act, 2022 created the legislative framework for advancing food security, while Government has also moved toward developing a new Agriculture and Fisheries Complex.

A contract was subsequently signed for the design and construction management of the facility, which is expected to include an abattoir, fish-processing facility and administrative and technical spaces. Government says the facility is intended to help farmers and fishers increase productivity, access new markets and reduce the Territory’s dependence on imports. 

Those developments are important because simply encouraging residents to “buy local” will not by itself create a sustainable local food system.

Farmers and fishers also need land, water, equipment, financing, processing facilities, reliable markets and a regulatory environment that allows their businesses to survive.

Bringing young people into the sector

Another recurring theme has been the effort to attract younger Virgin Islanders to agriculture and fisheries.

Government has previously pointed to training programmes, school gardens and initiatives designed to demonstrate that agriculture is not simply subsistence farming, but can also provide opportunities in technology, marketing, research, entrepreneurship and tourism.

In 2024, the Department specifically challenged young people to become champions of food security, arguing that their energy and creativity would be essential to transforming the sectors. 

That transformation may be particularly important if the Territory wants agriculture and fisheries to become meaningful contributors to the economy rather than sectors that are celebrated annually but remain relatively small in economic terms.

The economic opportunity

There is also an opportunity to connect agriculture and fisheries with tourism.

Government has previously highlighted the potential for local farmers to open their properties to visitors and develop agricultural tourism experiences.

Farm tours, locally sourced restaurant menus, agricultural products, specialty foods and fishing experiences can create additional revenue streams while allowing visitors to experience something distinctly Virgin Islands.

The 2024 Agriculture and Fisheries programme, for example, deliberately incorporated locally sourced foods into gourmet dining and included farm tours designed to show the public how food is produced and reaches the marketplace. 

For a Territory whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism, connecting agriculture, fisheries and tourism could therefore create opportunities well beyond the traditional farmers’ market.

The 2027 exhibition

The 2027 exhibition will provide another opportunity to put those possibilities on display.

Farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs and members of the public will have the chance to participate in an event that has increasingly become a showcase for local production and a forum for conversations about food security and sustainability.

But the real measure of success will extend beyond the three-day event.

The exhibition can celebrate the sectors, but the larger challenge is creating an environment in which people can make a viable living from them throughout the year.

That means ensuring that the farmer who displays produce at the exhibition can secure land, water and markets afterwards.

It means ensuring that the fisher who showcases his catch can access modern infrastructure and processing opportunities.

And it means creating pathways for young Virgin Islanders to see agriculture and fisheries not simply as traditions to be preserved, but as businesses and careers worth pursuing.

The 2027 Virgin Islands Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition and Market is scheduled for February 26–28, 2027.

For now, the public is being asked to save the date.

The details will come later.

But the bigger question remains one the Territory has been asking for years:

Can the Virgin Islands move from celebrating local food production to building a genuinely sustainable local food economy?