Changing Tides in the Caribbean Sea: Supporting the Integration of Fisheries into Agroecology and Island Food Systems Work
CAI and Switzer Fellow Luis Alexis Rodriguez Cruz were awarded a Switzer Fellowship Grant in 2026, which funds a bilingual narrative multimedia science communication project to integrate the role of fisheries and small-scale fisherfolk into sustainable food systems discourses, with a focus on environmental justice and conservation. The project will elevate the visibility of the successes and challenges of small-scale fisheries and provide actionable insights for conservation, policy, and food systems transformation in Puerto Rico and the broader Caribbean.
CAI and Switzer Fellow Luis Alexis Rodriguez Cruz were awarded a Switzer Fellowship Grant in 2026, which funds a bilingual narrative multimedia science communication project to integrate the role of fisheries and small-scale fisherfolk into sustainable food systems discourses, with a focus on environmental justice and conservation. The project will elevate the visibility of the successes and challenges of small-scale fisheries and provide actionable insights for conservation, policy, and food systems transformation in Puerto Rico and the broader Caribbean.
Caribbean Agroecology Mapping Study
In response to calls from partners, CAI is leading a Caribbean Agroecology Mapping study to better understand the actors working on agroecology and food sovereignty, and to identify barriers, leverage points, and ways forward for collective learning and collaboration toward food systems transformation in the Insular Caribbean. This report will be launched in 2026.
In response to calls from partners, CAI is leading a Caribbean Agroecology Mapping study to better understand the actors working on agroecology and food sovereignty, and to identify barriers, leverage points, and ways forward for collective learning and collaboration toward food systems transformation in the Insular Caribbean. This report will be launched in 2026.
Strengthening Local Food System Governance
Since 2023, in collaboration with the FANJ, CITMA and the University of Sancti Spiritus, we have facilitated a process of community-based research for action, in the municipality of Cabaiguan, in the province of Sancti Spiritus, to strengthen the governance of local food systems to scale up agroecology and address the food crisis. This project is part of a regional project funded by the Agroecology Fund titled Investigacion Participativa para la Agroecologia en Latinoamerica y el Caribe (IPA-LAC). This initiative successfully formed a multi-actor platform made up of local decision makers, researchers, farmers, and local businesses who are engaged in food, health, and environment. This platform is titled the Colectivo Agroecologica de Cabaiguan, and serves to accompany a governance and action process to implement a diversity of strategies to address the food crisis.
Since 2023, in collaboration with the FANJ, CITMA and the University of Sancti Spiritus, we have facilitated a process of community-based research for action, in the municipality of Cabaiguan, in the province of Sancti Spiritus, to strengthen the governance of local food systems to scale up agroecology and address the food crisis. This project is part of a regional project funded by the Agroecology Fund titled Investigacion Participativa para la Agroecologia en Latinoamerica y el Caribe (IPA-LAC). This initiative successfully formed a multi-actor platform made up of local decision makers, researchers, farmers, and local businesses who are engaged in food, health, and environment. This platform is titled the Colectivo Agroecologica de Cabaiguan, and serves to accompany a governance and action process to implement a diversity of strategies to address the food crisis.
Research Initiative for the Sustainable Development of Cuba
Founded in 2016, the Research Initiative for the Sustainable Development of Cuba (RISDoC) is a collective of academics and non-governmental organizations from Cuba and abroad interested in engaging in knowledge exchanges on Cuba’s agricultural sustainability and climate resilience. The following organizations worked to develop RISDoC: Cátedra del Caribe de la Universidad de La Habana, Fundación de Antonio Núñez Jiménez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, United Nations Development Program, Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Caribbean Agroecology Institute. These organizations created RISDoC as a collaborative platform to integrate and exchange knowledge and resources from different sectors. The main objectives are to:
- Build learning opportunities for the academic community, and for representatives of ministerial agencies, local governments, businesses, associations and self-employed partners in Cuba, focused on the development of sustainable initiatives.
- Promote collaborative spaces for learning exchanges on sustainable development in Cuba amongst international actors.
- Gather, analyze, and disseminate information on topics related to sustainability in Cuba
Since 2016, we have organized 6 seminars covering topics such as climate finance, sustainable local food systems, coastal resilience, tourism, renewable energy, and climate financing. We have published several papers, including the following white paper on coastal resilience in Cuba.
Now in its 9th year, RISDoC has evolved into a highly effective strategic collaboration platform made up of a community of thinkers and doers who are driving sustainability across Cuban society. Our next actions include bringing together local decision makers and entrepreneurs to share successful models for improving local livelihoods.
Special Issue: Cuba’s Agrifood Systems in Transition
CAI’s Executive Director, Margarita Fernandez, co-edited with Cuban agroecologist, Fernando Funes Aguilar, a special issue for the open access, nonprofit environmental science and policy journal that was spawned by BioOne, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. This special issue aims to foster exchange and dialogue on Cuba’s agrifood system, from past and current sustainability successes and challenges to recommendations for continuing evolution towards sustainability under normalized relations with the U.S. You can access the special issue here.