“Who Feels It Knows It”: Grenadian Small Farmers’ Perspectives on Neo-Liberal Development

This paper examines the experiences of small farmers in Grenada during the years of neo-liberal development. It poses the question: What do small farmers in Grenada report as their experiences during the years of neo-liberal development, and what do these experiences demonstrate about the nature of such development. This research seeks to answer this question through phenomenological inquiry investigating the lived experience of ten small farmers and how these farmers construct meaning in their experience. It reveals that over the years of trade liberalization, small farmers in Grenada have experienced a loss of banana markets, a limited domestic market, hard competition, diminished income and livelihoods, and an increased dependence on imported agricultural inputs. This paper concludes that the current international trade system creates unemployment and consumerism. It also concludes that Grenadian farmers are subject to, and well aware of, the social and economic injustice inherent in neo-liberal development initiatives and are not ready or willing to give up working on developing an independent nation. And finally, current international trade policies recreate colonial relationships of dominance, inequality, exploitation and dependency.