Puerto Rico and Sustainable Agriculture

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Puerto Rico Reclaims Sustainable Agriculture

Preliminary Topic Idea

For a long time, Puerto Rico had deep roots in agriculture. But that all changed in the mid 1900’s when the U.S. government provided corporations huge incentives to bring manufacturing jobs to U.S. territory. As a result, over the years, people were slowly taken off the land and put into factories. Farmland became dotted with businesses and industrials, and farming skills were largely lost among the subsequent generations. The culture of the island changed heavily as the once beloved trade was now looked upon with disdain and disinterest.

Puerto Rico imports almost 85% of their food from other places around the world such as the U.S., Australia, Philippines, and even as faraway as China. This has caused food prices to be high and the supply to be extremely vulnerable to trade disputes and other factors influencing trade routes. These concerns have encouraged the island’s political leaders to adopt policies that have led Puerto Rico to make a comeback to domestic agricultural production. Around 1,700 new farms have been established since 2013 along with 30,000 in farmable land. The local government is now supporting these new farmers along with the U.S. federal government, which has provided numerous subsidies and incentives to help make farming more profitable on the island. It is hoped that these efforts will increase domestic food production by 25% in the coming years and will help decrease reliance on imports. It is also believed that it will help create jobs and stimulate the Puerto Rican economy which as been plagued by a $70 billion debt crisis.

My paper will go into depth about the present problems facing Puerto Rico as well as the steps being taken to re-invigorate agriculture through political policies and different farming techniques. It will also consist of both quantitative and qualitative data supporting my points...