The island of Puerto Rico, nestled in the Caribbean, has a rich and complex agricultural history that has shaped its economy, landscapes and rural communities for centuries. Long before European colonization, Indigenous Taíno peoples cultivated crops suited to the tropical environment, demonstrating sophisticated methods such as terracing to manage soil and water on sloping terrain. With the arrival of Spanish settlers in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, agricultural production was reorganized to serve European markets, laying the foundations for centuries of plantation agriculture and export-oriented cash crops. Today the agricultural sector remains a vital part of Puerto Rico’s cultural fabric, even as it faces significant structural and environmental challenges.
A Brief History of Agriculture in Puerto Rico
When Christopher Columbus first encountered Puerto Rico in 1493, the island’s Indigenous population subsisted on farming systems that included manioc (cassava), sweet potatoes, maize and other staples well adapted to the local climate. Spanish colonization imposed a radically different model of agriculture, introducing large estates or haciendas that produced crops for export and relied heavily on Indigenous and, later, enslaved African labour.
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Sugar cane, coffee, introduced by Europeans to the island, and tobacco emerged as the most economically significant crops under Spanish rule, with sugar cane cultivation particularly dominant in coastal lowlands where irrigation and soil conditions supported its growth. By the mid-19th century, estates such as Hacienda Buena Vista and Hacienda Mercedita had become centres of commercial production; the latter, founded in 1861, grew sugar cane that was refined locally and eventually led to rum production through the Serrallés family enterprise.
The transition from Spanish to American political control in 1898, following the Spanish-American War, marked a major turning point for agriculture on the island. Under U.S. rule, sugar cane production expanded dramatically, buoyed by investment capital and preferential access to U.S. markets. Between the early 1900s and the late 1920s, Puerto Rico’s agricultural economy became increasingly dominated by export-oriented crops. According to the 1938 study, The Sugar Economy of Puerto Rico, by 1920, sugar exports represented over 65 percent compared to only 21 percent in 1897. By 1929 sugar cane alone accounted for about 30 percent of the island’s total cultivated acreage, with coffee, tobacco and other commercial crops comprising the majority of the remainder, indicating strong emphasis on plantation production for export markets.
During this period the share of land dedicated to food crops fell relative to these commercial export crops, and export earnings from sugar and tobacco expanded substantially, while coffee, once the primary crop under Spanish rule, declined in the decades following U.S. takeover. World history, however, would reshape that prosperity. The Great Depression, followed by global shifts in commodity prices and the economic restructuring policies of the post-war era, saw a deliberate shift away from agriculture towards industrialization. Programs such as Operation Bootstrap encouraged manufacturing and urban employment, drawing labour out of rural areas and diminishing the relative importance of farming.
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By 1940 agriculture still employed almost 45 percent of the workforce, but by 2023, that figure had plummeted to just over 1 percent, reflecting a profound structural transformation. A fascinating study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department highlights many factors that likely contributed to the collapse of Puerto Rico’s sugar industry in the 1960s. These include resistance to mechanized farming, locally legislated minimum wages, the federal quota system, and the local government’s decision to limit farms sizes and break up larger, established farms.
The Principal Crops: Then and Now
Aside from sugar cane, tobacco was valued as cigar filler and contributed significantly to export earnings through much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Coffee also defined Puerto Rico’s agricultural exports. Coffee thrived in the central mountainous, western regions around towns such as Lares, Utuado and Maricao, where cooler temperatures and ample rainfall created ideal conditions. Spanish and later American traders exported Puerto Rican coffee to Europe and the United States (at reduced levels), establishing reputations for quality that endured into the early 20th century. This change was due to the preferential access to U.S. markets that favoured sugar cane and tobacco, while tariff changes and shifting trade structures reduced coffee’s export competitiveness, causing its share of exports to fall from approximately three-quarters of total exports in the 1890s to under 1 percent by 1930.
In the decades that followed, Puerto Rican coffee transitioned from an export-driven commodity to a primarily domestic and regional product, valued more for quality and cultural significance than volume. Although hurricanes in recent years have further constrained production, coffee remains an economically and symbolically important crop, concentrated mainly in the central mountainous regions in the western part, which continue to form the core of the island’s coffee-growing landscape. Today, there are roughly 3,000 coffee farms on the island producing about 6 million pounds of coffee, accounting for approximately $18 million.
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What was once a territory with over 30 raw sugar mills and seven refineries now has only two and one remaining, respectively. The agricultural landscape has diversified and contracted in important ways.
Milk and poultry now outstrip many traditional field crops in economic value, with milk production alone accounting for the largest share of total agricultural sales at $173 million. Other crops such as corn, rice, pineapple, and plantains are still cultivated, alongside a wide variety of smaller-scale fruits, vegetables and grains, with production largely geared towards local consumption rather than large-scale export markets.
Export and Domestic Distribution
Today, the majority of Puerto Rico’s agricultural output is destined for local consumption rather than export, a stark contrast to the island’s plantation era. Only modest quantities of coffee and some specialty fruits reach international markets, including Europe and Asia. Almost all dairy, poultry and field crops are consumed within the territory, often replacing imports in local supermarkets and food systems.
Despite having fertile land and a tropical climate conducive to growing a wide variety of crops, Puerto Rico still imports around 85 percent of its food, the highest import dependence in its history. This heavy reliance on imported foodstuffs underscores persistent challenges in scaling domestic production to meet local demand, especially for staples such as rice, wheat and fresh vegetables.
Hurricanes and Their Economic Impact
The geographic location that affords Puerto Rico a tropical climate also exposes it to Atlantic hurricanes that can devastate agricultural production. The 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane is a historic example, severely damaging coffee plantations and undermining a once-thriving export crop. More recently, hurricanes Irma and María in 2017 caused catastrophic losses, destroying an estimated 80 percent of crops and inflicting hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to agricultural infrastructure and yields. A study from the Journal of Emergency Management published in 2021 suggested losses of over US $2 billion in agricultural production and infrastructure as a result of María alone, with plantain, banana and coffee among the hardest-hit crops.
Recovery from such events takes years; coffee trees, for example, require several seasons to reach full productivity after being replanted. The 2018 Puerto Rico Census of Agriculture data reflected deep declines in the value of coffee and plantain production since before the hurricanes. For instance, by 2018, the economic value of plantain production had fallen by nearly half compared with 2012 levels, while coffee experienced an even sharper decline, with production value decreasing by more than four-fifths over the same period.
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Climate risk remains a perennial concern for Puerto Rico’s agricultural sector, influencing planting decisions, crop diversity and long-term investment. Repeated hurricane strikes can erode farmer confidence and slow progress towards food security, emphasizing the importance of resilient infrastructure and adaptive agricultural practices.
The Current State of Puerto Rico’s Agricultural Sector
As of the early 2020s, agriculture in the territory of Puerto Rico remains a small but strong component of the island’s economy. According to recent data from the USDA 2022 Puerto Rico Census of Agriculture, the total value of agricultural production reached US $703 million, a significant increase (45 percent) compared with 2018, while accounting for less than one percent of the U.S.’s total agriculture production value. A total of 7,602 farms were recorded, covering 494,481 cuerdas (approximately 480,000 acres), which amounts to about 22 percent of the island’s land area.
There is a growing emphasis on diversification and local food systems, with producers exploring value-added products, farm-to-table initiatives, and niche export markets, such as high-end coffee and tropical fruits. Meanwhile, livestock and dairy production have gained importance, reflecting broader changes in consumption patterns and comparative advantages within the island’s agricultural economy.
Despite these positive trends, challenges persist. Limited arable land, a shrinking agricultural workforce, import competition and the ongoing threat of extreme weather events all contribute to uncertainty. The Puerto Rican government and agricultural stakeholders continue to pursue policies aimed at strengthening resilience, improving market access, and encouraging sustainable practices that can support a more robust and self-reliant industry.
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