Overseas territories suffer from weak local production, which obliges them to rely on costly imports. At the heart of public development policies, strengthening local capacities also mobilizes major private groups. By the end of September, GBH announced a 1.2 million euro support fund for ultramarine farmers, along with a further increase in its purchases of local products. CMA CGM has, for its part, launched a logistics scheme for the Antilles and Guyana, while several energy companies are valorizing residues from local agricultural and forestry supply chains.
“Producing locally is a strategic issue. It helps reduce our dependence on imports, and creates jobs and local income.” Stéphane Hayot, CEO of Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH), summarizes this issue on the sidelines of the Second Meetings on Local Production, held on September 24, 2026 at Habitation Clément in Martinique.
Dedicated to agriculture, the event brought together more than 300 producers, sector representatives, public actors and private partners. The objective was to sustainably increase local production and its share in Martiniquan consumption. In a territory where agricultural land is limited, every choice matters: investments, crops, production calendars and outlets must be coordinated. Planning and the economic support of farms thus become decisive.
Local production, a government priority
The weakness of the productive apparatus broadly jeopardizes ultramarine economies. Admittedly, geographic constraints do not allow for full autonomy, especially for manufactured goods and those of animal origin. Nevertheless, the State makes strengthening local production capacities one of the central axes of its development policy.
On October 1, 2026, the government unveiled Choose Outre-mer, a public-private investment plan. With 6 billion euros, it brings together around one hundred industrial projects across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, waste management, space, tourism, agri-food and digital.
Each overseas department also has an agricultural sovereignty plan led by the State. The overseas territories also benefit from European POSEI aid for agriculture, FEADER for the modernization of farms, and FEDER for non-agricultural productive infrastructure, in addition to national and regional aids.
Highlight local products in store shelves
In recent years, several private groups have developed their own schemes to support ultramarine production. GBH highlights agricultural producers in its stores by “facilitating the listing of their products and giving them prominent exposure on our shelves,” in the words of Bernard Hayot. In Martinique, the group is expected to surpass this year the target set for 2028: to increase the share of local products in its sales by 30%. During the Meetings, GBH pledged to raise its purchases of Martiniquan products from 79 million euros in 2025 to 100 million euros by 2030.
For farmers, the expansion of outlets is a sustainability challenge, notes the senator Frédéric Buval, present at Habitation Clément. “A farmer spends his day in his fields. Can we then ask him to go sell all of his production on a market? That is not possible for everyone. If he can deliver fresh products early in the morning [to a partner distributor, editor’s note], then return to work on his farm, another organization opens up to him,” the elected official explains.
GBH creates a 1.2 million euro fund for ultramarine farmers
During the event, GBH also announced the creation of “Producteurs d’avenir” (Future Producers), a 1.2 million euro support fund over three years aimed at farmers in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana and Réunion. The scheme provides 100,000 euros per year for each of the four territories, intended to finance investment or establishment projects, selected by local agricultural and institutional actors.
Victor Mont-Louis Bonnaire, a farmer and president of GIEE 280 at Le Vauclin, believes that this “dynamization fund” can only be positive. Frédéric Buval hopes it can “help farmers evolve their production methods.” Stéphane Hayot sees it as an opportunity to “get a foothold and try to ensure that more young people can undertake.”
GBH had already mobilized 2 million euros for agricultural reconstruction in Mayotte, in partnership with the NGO Super Nova. The program finances notably rainwater collection and irrigation systems.
Logistics and energy: new support for local supply chains
In 2026, other private players launched initiatives to facilitate the activity of local producers. In February, the shipping line CMA CGM launched the Antilles-Guyana Express (AGEX) service, operated by two fast vessels dedicated to the Martinique–Guadeloupe–Guyana link. The aim is to reduce costs and make the movement of goods more reliable, to facilitate the import of equipment and raw materials and the export of local products.
Energy players have also created outlets for the residues from agricultural and forestry industries used in power plants. This valorization can thus provide supplementary income to the farmers and operators involved. In Guadeloupe, Albioma completed the biomass conversion of its Moule plant, previously coal-fired, which now supplies 30% of the island’s electricity. The company prioritizes supplies from local farmers, notably bagasse from the sugarcane sector. In Guyana, IDEX will build in Kourou two biomass cogeneration plants, which will mainly use residues and by-products from forestry operations and sawing.
In Réunion, the Mangassaye 2 solar project by TotalEnergies also includes an agricultural component: it plans to create about 10 hectares of pastures and a sheep farm to support the local sheep sector.
