Suriname: The Smallest Nation in South America
Suriname is the smallest and only Dutch speaking country on the South American continent. With almost 164.000 square kilometers of national territory, Suriname is somewhat larger than the state of Georgia. Located along the northern coastline of the southern continent, Suriname finds itself in between Guyana and French Guiana. Geographically, Suriname has some 390 kilometers of coastline and coastal plains, while rolling hills and forests dominate the inland territory. Similarly, Suriname has a total population of less than 566.000 citizens, of which approximately 66% live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Paramaribo. Currently, Suriname’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is of approximately US$8 billion. Furthermore, the country has experienced sluggish and even negative economic growth in recent years. The Surinamese national economy is divided into 7% agriculture, 50% manufacturing, and 43% services. However, the agriculture industry only utilizes 1% of the national territory, while another 94% is forested. Likewise, Suriname’s agricultural industry employs 11% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 20% and services employ some 69%.
In terms of natural resources, Suriname has timber, hydropower, fish, shrimp, and minerals, such as kaolin, bauxite, gold, nickel, copper, platinum, and iron ore. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on mining & metals production, oil extraction, lumbering, fishing, and food processing. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts, plantains, peanuts, beef, chicken, shrimp, and wood products. In terms of trade, Suriname is a full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), alongside fifteen other mainly English-speaking nations in the region, such as Guyana, Belize, and Barbados. Similarly, Suriname is a member of regional economic and political cooperation organisms, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). Today, Suriname’s main trade partners are the United States, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, India, and China, amongst others. This article explores the status of grain production and land distribution in Suriname.
Suriname: The Smallest Nation in South America
In recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin in Suriname has been of 28 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers represent about 43% of the food energy intake in the country. Simultaneously, the land distribution within Suriname has evolved throughout the last half century. In 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered some 6.000 hectares, while arable land totaled 28.000 hectares, and permanent crops accounted for 7.000 hectares. By 2014, permanent pastures and meadows accounted for more than 17.000 hectares, while arable land represented about 65.000 hectares, and permanent crops accounted for 6.000 hectares.
Finally, the domestic cereals market in Surname has transformed substantially throughout the last several decades. In 1961, the country devoted over 26.000 hectares of land to the production of cereals and produced almost 73.000 metric tons annually. Meanwhile, in 2014, Suriname devoted more than 62.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded approximately 276.000 metric tons.