Agriculture as a Prescription for Better Health - Global CFaH at CWA 2026
On Thursday 1 October 2026, Global CFaH and The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Sustainability (FASS) led the Human Nutrition & Planetary Health technical session at Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) 2026.
Held at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny, Jamaica, the session asked a timely question:
What would it take to make agriculture the prescription for better health?
The discussion brought together Dr Madhuvanti Murphy of The University of the West Indies, Dr Arlette Saint Ville of The University of the West Indies, and Professor Gordon Hickey of McGill University to consider connections between community food systems, human nutrition, sustainable agriculture and planetary health. Topics highlighted during the session included food-systems and nutrition interventions; agroecology and findings using the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE); community engagement; Living Labs; and the future of planetary health.
Connecting agriculture, nutrition and planetary health
The session reflected a central principle of the Global CFaH project: food production cannot be considered separately from human health, social systems or the environments in which food systems operate. Global CFaH has worked across four small-island settings in Fiji, Palawan in the Philippines, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines to investigate the potential for agroecologically based community food production to contribute to healthier diets, improved nutrition and food security, livelihoods and ecosystem health.
Rather than applying a single intervention across very different places, the project has used participatory approaches and Living Labs to work with communities and local stakeholders to understand each setting and co-create locally relevant responses. This systems-based approach was particularly relevant within the wider context of CWA 2026. The 20th staging of Caribbean Week of Agriculture is being held under the theme “The New F.A.C.E. of Caribbean Food Systems,” with regional discussions centred on Food Security, Agri-Business Development, Climate-Smart Technologies and Export Expansion. CWA brings together governments, farmers and producer organisations, researchers, development partners, regional institutions and private-sector actors to examine the future of agriculture and food systems across the Caribbean. Global CFaH’s contribution placed nutrition and planetary health within that conversation, highlighting the need to think about agricultural transformation not only in terms of production, but also in terms of the people, communities and environments food systems are intended to sustain.
Taking project learning into regional spaces
As Global CFaH approaches the end of its formal project period, research dissemination and knowledge sharing are becoming an increasingly important part of the work. Community activities across project sites have generated research, practical experience and learning on community food production, agroecology, nutrition, co-creation and locally adapted food-system interventions. Bringing these perspectives into regional forums such as Caribbean Week of Agriculture creates opportunities for that learning to travel beyond individual project locations and contribute to broader discussions among researchers, practitioners and institutions working on Caribbean food systems.
The CWA session forms part of Global CFaH’s wider work to document project learning, publish research findings and develop resources that can continue to be used beyond the project lifecycle. Global CFaH thanks the organisers of Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2026, The University of the West Indies Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Sustainability, the session contributors and everyone who participated in the discussion.
Click here to read our latest newsletter to learn more about how the Global CFaH Project is moving from research to legacy in its final phase.
Click here to join our mailing list to stay connected with Global CFaH for more resources emerging from the project’s final phase and updates from each small island setting: Fiji, Palawan, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines.