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Towards Sustainable Food Systems on Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems in Aruba
Bouchired, Enza Hesseling, Plym Kyriakidou, Katerina Rødnes, Inger Spoor, Sophie Valle, Gabriela Versteeg, Ilvie Wilke, Kaja
Bouchired, Enza
Hesseling, Plym
Kyriakidou, Katerina
Rødnes, Inger
Spoor, Sophie
Valle, Gabriela
Versteeg, Ilvie
Wilke, Kaja
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Location research
Date
2025-04
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Abstract
Integrative Executive Summary
This consultancy report provides Santa Rosa, the Department of Agriculture, Husbandry and Fisheries of Aruba, with evidence-based recommendations to improve the productivity and sustainability of the primary sector. The sector that extracts or harvests products from the Earth, including activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and aquaculture. Santa Rosa plays a key role in motivating local food production to reduce Aruba’s dependency on food imports, improve food security and build resilience against global disruptions.
Given the islands semi-arid climate, limited land and water resources, and the growing demands of the tourism sector, Santa Rosa faces significant challenges in achieving these objectives while ensuring environmental sustainability. “Food security” here refers not only to reliable food availability, but also to affordability, accessibility, and nutritional adequacy for all residents. “Sustainability” refers to the responsible use of land, water, and energy in ways that do not compromise future generations’ ability to produce food.
The motivation for this research comes from the need to address Aruba’s food system vulnerabilities and explore solutions for reducing these dependences on imported food. Currently, Aruba is highly dependent on global food supply chain, with a risk of possibles disruptions of chains. This report presents Santa Rosa with viable solutions for local food production that are both economically and environmentally sustainable, while also meeting the nutritional needs of the population Aruba has a promising opportunity to strengthen its food system by producing more of its own food locally, by feeding the local population through sustainable, island-adapted production methods. As a team, we have identified four food production methods that are particularly relevant to Aruba’s unique geographic context:
soil-based agriculture, innovative agriculture, animal husbandry, and aquaculture. While these approaches are widely practiced globally, their potential in Aruba remains underexplored especially in terms of resource
efficiency, environmental sustainability, and economic viability. Drawing on both primary and secondary data collected on the island between 1st of February and 10th of April, this report provides evidence-based recommendations aimed at supporting Santa Rosa’s strategic efforts to close this gap and build a more selfreliant and sustainable food system.
As part of this consultancy, several key points of advice are recommended, including the promotion of diversified and complementary farming systems that are responsive to Aruba’s unique characteristics, acknowledging that no one-size-fits-all model applies. These advice focus on integrating our food methods of production to create a resilient food production system; that is the goal. Additionally, recommendations emphasize the importance of water conservation, renewable energy, and innovative financial tools to support local food producers. Finally fostering trust and communication between stakeholders is key to align efforts and drive the systemic change needed for Aruba’s food security and sustainability.
As a final remark, this report offers actionable advice to help Santa Rosa take step forwards and get a leadership role in improving Aruba’s food system, ensuring that it is more sustainable and self-sufficient.
With the right steps, Aruba can set a benchmark for food security and
environmental stewardship in the Caribbean region.
Citation
Bouchired, E., Hesseling, P., Kyriakidou, K., Rødnes, I., Spoor, S., Valle, G.L., Versteeg, I., & Wilke, K. (2025), Towards Sustainable Food Systems on Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems in Aruba. [report ]. Course GEO3-2432 Consultancy Project Aruba Global Sustainability Science at Utrecht University.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14473/1484