Sugar growers in southern Florida annually recruit eight to ten thousand cane cutters from the small-farmer population of five English-speaking Caribbean islands. The results of a 1981 survey of 302 workers show that the average cane cutter earns about $4,000 a season. Workers remitted a total of $19 million through a mandatory savings plan, voluntary money orders, goods in kind and cash in hand. Workers use their earnings mainly for consumption rather than investment purposes. While participation in the program contributes to individual welfare, we find no evidence that seasonal stateside employment expands agricultural output, or enhances the productive capacity of small farmers in the Caribbean.
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