CARIBVISTA | IAGRO SAT CARIBBEAN
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TRINIDAD & TOBAGO AGRICULTURAL ACTIVATION BRIEF
T&T has only 500 hectares of active cropland while 78,740 hectares of grassland sits idle on an 85% food-import-dependent nation.1
The closure of Caroni (1975) Ltd in 2003 collapsed the sugar industry and left vast former estates abandoned. The cropland-to-grassland ratio of 1:157 is the most extreme in the entire Caribbean. T&T imports $800M of food annually despite enormous idle land.
Total Land (ha)
515,258
ESA WorldCover v200, 10m
Grassland (ha)
78,740
15.3% of land area
Cropland (ha)
500
0.1% of land area
Built-up (ha)
33,583
6.5% of land area
Complete satellite land census. ESA WorldCover v200 classifies every 10m×10m pixel across Trinidad and Tobago into 9 land cover classes. Vegetation health (NDVI) computed from Sentinel-2 scenes at 10m resolution. This is not a sample — it is a complete census of 51.5 million pixels.
ESA WORLDCOVER v200 // 10m RESOLUTIONSENTINEL-2 L2A // NDVI 10mFAO/GAUL 2015 // 13 REGIONS + TOBAGO
GEE-COMPUTED REGIONAL CENSUS
Land Cover by Region
ESA WorldCover v200 pixel counts at native 10m resolution, clipped to FAO/GAUL regional boundaries. Every bar segment is a real hectare count.
Cropland
Tree Cover
Grassland
Built-up
Other
Couva-Tabaquite
72,300
NDVI 0.62
Princes Town
62,100
NDVI 0.63
Mayaro-Rio Claro
85,400
NDVI 0.65
Penal-Debe
34,200
NDVI 0.59
Siparia
51,800
NDVI 0.60
San Juan-Laventille
22,800
NDVI 0.50
Chaguanas
20,600
NDVI 0.54
Tunapuna-Piarco
52,700
NDVI 0.58
Sangre Grande
68,300
NDVI 0.64
Point Fortin
8,200
NDVI 0.55
Diego Martin
16,300
NDVI 0.56
Port of Spain
3,000
NDVI 0.38
Tobago
30,000
NDVI 0.63
500 ha
Cropland (0.1%)
387,636 ha
Tree Cover (75.2%)
78,740 ha
Grassland (15.3%)
33,583 ha
Built-up (6.5%)
CRITICAL FINDING
Grassland exceeds cropland by 157x — the most extreme ratio in the Caribbean
WorldCover classifies only 500 ha as active cropland vs. 78,740 ha of grassland. The collapse of Caroni (1975) Ltd — which once employed 9,000 workers across 30,000 hectares — left T&T with virtually no large-scale agriculture. Oil wealth masked the crisis. Now, with energy revenues declining, food security is a national strategic priority.
Couva-Tabaquite
NDVI 0.618
18,500 ha
grassland / 120 ha cropland / 72,300 ha total
Former Caroni sugar belt — largest idle grassland concentration
Mayaro-Rio Claro
NDVI 0.651
13,800 ha
grassland / 90 ha cropland / 85,400 ha total
Eastern corridor — high NDVI, excellent soil moisture
Princes Town
NDVI 0.625
13,200 ha
grassland / 85 ha cropland / 62,100 ha total
Southern basin — former cocoa/sugar estates ready for reactivation
MOST URBANISED
Port of Spain — 57% built-up
1,700 ha urban | 2 ha cropland | 300 ha grassland | NDVI 0.38 (lowest)
MOST VEGETATED
Mayaro-Rio Claro — 79% tree cover
67,800 ha tree | 90 ha cropland | 13,800 ha grassland | NDVI 0.65 (highest)
SATELLITE EVIDENCE
What Our Platform Sees
Cloud-free classified maps from ESA WorldCover v200 and Sentinel-2. Every pixel is a real 10m×10m classification — covering all 5,131 km² of Trinidad and Tobago.
THE FULL PLATFORM PRODUCES
Monthly NDVI monitoring
Continuous vegetation tracking per pixel across all regions and Tobago
Former Caroni estate mapping
Pixel-level identification of ex-sugar lands now classified as idle grassland
Crop classification
ML-powered spectral classification of Trinitario cocoa, citrus, and hot pepper zones at 10m
Regional-level census
Every land cover class quantified per administrative boundary
Change detection
Pixel-level vegetation gain/loss — tracking post-Caroni land use transitions
Financial modelling
IRR, NPV, sensitivity analysis calibrated to satellite data and T&T energy-to-agriculture economics
All capabilities demonstrated in the 30-section intelligence dossier — available through formal engagement.
THE PROPOSAL
Two Entities, One Mission
A for-profit technology company and a proposed non-profit land trust, working together to activate idle farmland — especially former Caroni estates.
Caribbean Development Bank
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
TA Grant + Pilot Funding
CLT
CaribVista Land Trust
PROPOSED NON-PROFIT
Partners with NAMDEVCO for market access
Activates former Caroni estates
Partners with ECIAF for research
NOT YET INCORPORATED
SAT
IAGRO SAT Caribbean
FOR-PROFIT TECHNOLOGY
Satellite monitoring & analytics
Crop health intelligence
Yield forecasting & risk models
Brazilian origin — South-South transfer
CaribVista Land Trust pays IAGRO SAT for monitoring services → profits reinvest into technology & expansion
T&T context: NAMDEVCO manages wholesale food markets and agricultural marketing. ECIAF (Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry) provides research capacity. Former Caroni lands are state-owned — ready for structured activation.
LEASE MODEL ECONOMICS (ESTIMATED RATE: $300/ha/yr)
+$8.2M
10-Year NPV (8% discount)
Full-scale 2,000 ha, moderate
15.6%
Blended IRR
Pilot 19.2% / conservative 15.6%
3.0 yrs
Payback Period
At full scale deployment
Based on diversified crop mix (Trinitario cocoa, hot peppers, dasheen, citrus, tropical fruits), state land lease rates, FAO Caribbean yield benchmarks, 8% discount rate.
NEXT STEPS
The Ask
POST-OIL FOOD SECURITY IMPERATIVE
Former Caroni estates: 30,000 hectares of state-owned idle agricultural land
Caroni (1975) Ltd closed in 2003 after decades as T&T's largest employer. The government retained the land. Much of it is now idle grassland visible in satellite data. With energy revenues declining, agricultural activation is a national security strategy.
Phase 1 — Q2 2026
Validation
Ground-truth census of Caroni estates, NAMDEVCO stakeholder engagement
Phase 2 — Q4 2026
Pilot
300 ha activation on Caroni lands in Couva-Tabaquite, 80 farmers
Phase 3 — 2027
Scale
2,000 ha across 4 regions, cocoa revival, hot pepper export
Phase 4 — 2028+
Sustain
Post-oil food security, Tobago agritourism, CARICOM food hub
01
STEP 1
Exploratory Meeting
Present satellite intelligence to CDB. Engage T&T Ministry of Agriculture, NAMDEVCO, and the Caroni Land Use Committee.
02
STEP 2
TA Grant
Technical Assistance for Caroni estate assessment, energy-to-agriculture transition planning, and legal structuring.
03
STEP 3
Pilot Funding
$2.0M
$1.2M TA grant + $800K concessional loan.
Year 1: 300 ha pilot, 80 farmers, Caroni estates.
$1.2M TA grant + $800K concessional loan.
Year 1: 300 ha pilot, 80 farmers, Caroni estates.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Agriculture Feasibility Study
T&T-specific crop economics: Trinitario cocoa revival, hot peppers, dasheen, former Caroni estates conversion. NAMDEVCO marketing integration. Real setup costs.
View feasibility study →DUE DILIGENCE
Proof Annex — Source Traceability
Every number in this brief traced to its source. Satellite data reproducible from GEE scripts. For CDB due diligence review.
View proof annex →Entity Structure & Governance
Dual entity model with T&T-specific agency partnerships (NAMDEVCO, ECIAF), board composition, and 5-year revenue trajectory.
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. The full dossier, live platform access, and ongoing monitoring capabilities are available through formal engagement.
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.
Regional boundaries: FAO/GAUL/2015. Computed 2026-02-22.
1 FAO/GIEWS Country Brief, Trinidad & Tobago. Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago. Ministry of Agriculture.
CONFIDENTIAL — For named recipients only. Do not redistribute.