Abstract:
This paper explores how various dimensions of social capital have evolved and been influenced by institutional dynamics in Saint Lucia's domestic agri-food system. Economic and political power was concentrated in the hands of the minority ‘White planter class’ formal governance systems pre-1950, and can still be characterized as monocentric. Research findings support the view that the plantation institution had a strong influence on the export (formal) and domestic (informal) agri-food systems in Saint Lucia. Better bridging institutions in the domestic agri-food sector could help support shared rule-making, decentralization of power, enhanced participation in export agriculture opportunities and healthier rural communities.
