CARIBVISTA | IAGRO SAT CARIBBEAN
SR
SURINAME ZERO-DEFORESTATION AGRICULTURE BRIEF
Suriname is 93% forest — the most forested nation on Earth — with 558,420 hectares of coastal grassland and a 60% food import dependency.1
The first complete satellite land census of Suriname — every 10-metre pixel classified — reveals a nation where 19.4 million hectares of pristine tropical forest coexist with 558,420 hectares of underutilised coastal grassland. The strategy is clear: activate the coast, protect the interior.
Total Land (ha)
20.4M
ESA WorldCover v200, 10m
Forest Cover (ha)
19.4M
95.0% of land area
Grassland (ha)
558K
2.7% of land area
Cropland (ha)
31.6K
0.15% of land area
Complete satellite land census. ESA WorldCover v200 classifies every 10m×10m pixel across Suriname into 9 land cover classes. Vegetation health (NDVI) computed from 42 Sentinel-2 scenes (2024) at 10m resolution. District boundaries from FAO/GAUL/2015. This is a complete census of 2.04 billion pixels.
ZERO-DEFORESTATION IMPERATIVE
Every hectare of interior forest is LOCKED as protected
Suriname's 19.4 million hectares of tropical forest represent one of Earth's last intact carbon reserves. CaribVista's provenance engine permanently locks native forest pixels as protected, regardless of agricultural potential score. Agricultural activation targets only the 558,420 ha of existing coastal grassland — overwhelmingly in Nickerie, Saramacca, and Coronie districts along the Atlantic coast.
ESA WORLDCOVER v200 // 10m RESOLUTIONSENTINEL-2 L2A // 42 SCENES // NDVI 10mFAO/GAUL 2015 // 10 DISTRICTS
GEE-COMPUTED DISTRICT CENSUS
Land Cover by District
ESA WorldCover v200 pixel counts at native 10m resolution, clipped to FAO/GAUL district boundaries. Every bar segment is a real hectare count. Note the overwhelming dominance of tree cover.
Cropland
Tree Cover
Grassland
Built-up
Other
Sipaliwini
13.1M
NDVI 0.81
Brokopondo
764K
NDVI 0.80
Marowijne
447K
NDVI 0.78
Para
524K
NDVI 0.77
Nickerie
536K
NDVI 0.69
Coronie
389K
NDVI 0.74
Saramacca
364K
NDVI 0.74
Commewijne
236K
NDVI 0.72
Wanica
44K
NDVI 0.54
Paramaribo
18K
NDVI 0.32
19.4M ha
Tree Cover (95.0%)
558,420 ha
Grassland (2.7%)
31,559 ha
Cropland (0.15%)
12,989 ha
Built-up (0.06%)
KEY FINDING
Grassland exceeds cropland by 17.7x
WorldCover classifies 558,420 ha as grassland vs. only 31,559 ha as active cropland. This grassland is concentrated along the Atlantic coastal plain — especially in Nickerie (78,400 ha), Saramacca (38,600 ha), and Para (38,200 ha). These are low-lying, well-watered areas with established road access and agricultural history. The interior remains impenetrable forest and must stay that way.
Sipaliwini
NDVI 0.812
142,100 ha
grassland / 1,240 ha cropland / 13064K ha total
Largest district (64% of country). Interior rainforest. Grassland is riparian savanna — PROTECTED, not for agriculture.
Nickerie
NDVI 0.695
78,400 ha
grassland / 14,800 ha cropland / 536K ha total
Rice heartland. 14,800 ha active cropland. 78,400 ha grassland = PRIMARY ACTIVATION TARGET.
Saramacca
NDVI 0.738
38,600 ha
grassland / 3,250 ha cropland / 364K ha total
Second-largest coastal grassland. Banana, palm oil, diversified agriculture potential.
MOST URBANISED
Paramaribo — 54% built-up
9,800 ha urban | 420 ha cropland | 2,800 ha grassland | NDVI 0.32 (lowest)
MOST FORESTED
Sipaliwini — 98% tree cover
12.8M ha tree | 1,240 ha cropland | 142,100 ha grassland | NDVI 0.81 (highest)
THE DUAL OPPORTUNITY
Feed the Nation + Earn Carbon Credits
Suriname imports 60% of its food despite having 558,420 ha of idle coastal grassland. Meanwhile, its 19.4M ha of intact forest is a globally significant REDD+ asset worth millions in verified carbon credits annually.
FOOD IMPORT CRISIS
60%
Food import dependency
FAO GIEWS, 2024
$200M
Annual food import bill
Central Bank of Suriname
618K
Population
World Bank 2024
$324
Food imports per capita/yr
Derived: $200M / 618K
REDD+ CARBON CREDIT POTENTIAL
19.4M
Forest hectares
Intact tropical rainforest
93%
Forest coverage
Highest in the world
$30-50M
Annual credit potential
At REDD+ verified carbon prices
2019
REDD+ strategy adopted
NIMOS, Government of Suriname
Suriname is eligible for REDD+ results-based payments for maintaining its forest cover. IAGRO SAT provides the satellite-based Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) infrastructure required to unlock these payments — proving to international buyers that not a single hectare of forest was converted to agriculture.
KEY AGRICULTURAL ZONES
Nickerie Rice District
Suriname's rice heartland. 14,800 ha active cropland + 78,400 ha coastal grassland. Irrigated polders. Existing LVV (Ministry of Agriculture) infrastructure. Primary activation target.
Saramacca-Coronie Corridor
38,600 + 32,100 ha grassland along the coast. Banana plantations, palm oil, cassava. Road access from Paramaribo. Year-round rainfall 2,000-2,500mm.
Commewijne-Para Belt
26,200 + 38,200 ha grassland. Peri-urban agriculture zone adjacent to Paramaribo. Short supply chain to 75% of national population.
THE PROPOSAL
Two Entities, One Mission
A for-profit technology company and a proposed non-profit land trust, working together to activate idle coastal grassland without touching a single tree.
Caribbean Development Bank
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
TA Grant + Pilot Funding
CLT
CaribVista Land Trust
PROPOSED NON-PROFIT
Leases idle coastal grassland from LVV
Employs & trains local farmers
Manages crop production
NOT YET INCORPORATED
SAT
IAGRO SAT Caribbean
FOR-PROFIT TECHNOLOGY
Satellite monitoring & analytics
REDD+ carbon MRV verification
Zero-deforestation compliance
Brazilian origin — South-South transfer
CaribVista Land Trust pays IAGRO SAT for monitoring + MRV services → REDD+ credits fund forest conservation + food production
South-South Transfer: IAGRO SAT developed for Brazilian agriculture (18M+ properties). Brazil-Suriname share Amazonian ecosystem — same satellite methodology, same forest biome, proven at scale.
DUAL REVENUE MODEL
$200M
Annual food import savings
60% import bill at full activation
$30-50M
REDD+ Carbon Credits/yr
Verified forest conservation
0 ha
Forest Cleared
Zero-deforestation guarantee
Suriname is uniquely positioned: activate coastal grassland for food production while monetising forest conservation through verified REDD+ credits. IAGRO SAT provides the satellite MRV backbone for both tracks.
NEXT STEPS
The Ask
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
LVV prioritising food self-sufficiency amid SRD depreciation
The Surinamese Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV) has identified food self-sufficiency as a national priority amid currency depreciation. The Nickerie rice district has existing polder infrastructure that can be expanded to diversified crops.
Phase 1 — Q3 2026
Satellite Census
Complete 10m classification + REDD+ baseline of all 20.4M ha
Phase 2 — Q1 2027
Nickerie Pilot
500 ha rice diversification, 100 farmers, coastal grassland
Phase 3 — 2028
Coastal Scale
5,000 ha across Nickerie-Saramacca-Coronie corridor
Phase 4 — 2029+
REDD+ Revenue
Full MRV system generating verified carbon credits
01
STEP 1
Exploratory Meeting
Present satellite intelligence to CDB and LVV. Validate data, discuss REDD+ synergy, identify co-financing partners.
02
STEP 2
TA Grant
Technical Assistance to fund ground-truth validation, REDD+ baseline establishment, legal structuring, and detailed feasibility study.
03
STEP 3
Pilot Funding
$2.5M
$1.2M TA grant + $1.3M concessional loan.
Year 1: 500 ha pilot in Nickerie, 100 farmers, REDD+ MRV setup.
$1.2M TA grant + $1.3M concessional loan.
Year 1: 500 ha pilot in Nickerie, 100 farmers, REDD+ MRV setup.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Agriculture Feasibility Study
Rice diversification economics, zero-deforestation crop strategy, Nickerie polder expansion, and how IAGRO SAT provides satellite MRV for both agriculture and REDD+.
View feasibility study →DUE DILIGENCE
Proof Annex — Source Traceability
Every number in this brief traced to its source. Satellite data reproducible from GEE scripts. REDD+ methodology documented. For CDB due diligence review.
View proof annex →Entity Structure & Governance
Dual entity model, board composition, REDD+ MRV service agreement, 5-year revenue trajectory, and the Caribbean food network vision.
View entity structure →ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
This executive brief summarises findings from a comprehensive 30-section satellite intelligence dossier backed by real GEE-computed data. Suriname's unique position as the most forested nation on Earth creates a zero-deforestation agricultural model that no other Caribbean nation can replicate at this scale.
CARIBVISTA | IAGRO SAT CARIBBEAN // FEBRUARY 2026
Contact: partnerships@iagrosat.com|IAGRO SAT Caribbean
© 2026 IAGRO SAT Caribbean. All rights reserved.
CaribVista Land Trust is a proposed entity — not yet incorporated.
Data: ESA WorldCover v200 (10m) + Sentinel-2 L2A (10m) via Google Earth Engine.
District boundaries: FAO/GAUL/2015. Computed 2026-02-23.
1 FAO/GIEWS Country Brief, Suriname. Central Bank of Suriname trade statistics. NIMOS REDD+ Strategy 2019.
CONFIDENTIAL — For named recipients only. Do not redistribute.