From the Mountains to the Table: A Brief History of Farming in Puerto Rico
Updated: Sep 25
By Jack Delano - Library of CongressCatalog: https://lccn.loc.gov/2017877803Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/fsac/1a34000/1a34000/1a34045u.tifOriginal url: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017877803/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68288206
Puerto Rico’s rich culinary traditions begin with the land. For centuries, farming has shaped the island’s food, economy, communities, and culture—from Indigenous Taíno agriculture to the small farms and local producers keeping those traditions alive today.
Farming Before Columbus
Long before the arrival of the Spanish, the Taíno people cultivated the fertile land of Borikén, the Indigenous name associated with Puerto Rico. They grew crops including yuca (cassava), batata (sweet potato), yautía, corn, peppers, and beans.
Yuca was particularly important. It was processed to make casabe, a thin cassava bread that remains part of Caribbean food culture today.
The Taíno developed agricultural practices suited to the island’s tropical environment, including raised planting mounds known as conucos.
Sugar, Coffee & the Spanish Colonial Era
Spanish colonization dramatically transformed agriculture in Puerto Rico. New crops, livestock, and farming practices arrived from Europe, Africa, and other parts of the Spanish Empire. Over time, sugarcane became one of Puerto Rico’s most important crops. Large plantations and sugar mills shaped the island’s economy, particularly during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This agricultural system also depended heavily on the labor of enslaved Africans until slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873.
In the mountains, another crop flourished: coffee.
Puerto Rican coffee became internationally known during the 19th century. Mountain towns such as Adjuntas, Lares, Utuado, and Yauco developed strong coffee-growing traditions, supported by the island’s elevation, rainfall, and fertile soils.
From the Countryside to the Puerto Rican Kitchen
Puerto Rican agriculture has always been closely connected to its cuisine.
Plantains, bananas, yuca, yautía, ñame, gandules, tropical fruits, herbs, peppers, coffee, and other crops became ingredients in dishes passed from one generation to another.
That connection between the farm and the Puerto Rican kitchen helped create the cuisine we know today—a blend of Indigenous, African, Spanish, Caribbean, and later influences transformed into something distinctly Puerto Rican. Sofrito is one of the best examples of a Spanish import changed by the available herbs on the island.
Farming in Puerto Rico Today - Farm to Table
Puerto Rican agriculture has changed considerably over the past century as the island industrialized and became increasingly dependent on imported food. Today, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez’s Food Security Data Center reports that approximately 85% of the food consumed in Puerto Rico is imported from the United States. Other government and academic sources have placed Puerto Rico’s food-import dependence in roughly the 80–90% range, depending on the year and methodology used.
This dependence also represents an opportunity for Puerto Rican agriculture. A Puerto Rico government economic-development plan has estimated that local crops could potentially supply approximately 30% of local demand, particularly for vegetables and root crops that are currently imported. More recent research suggests that increasing local production could also have a meaningful economic impact. A 2026 University of Puerto Rico study published in Agriculture & Food Security compared locally produced agricultural goods with imports and found that Puerto Rican farmers had lower prices than import costs for 30 of 74 agricultural products studied.
The researchers estimated that if Puerto Rico replaced imports with local production in just five products—corn, peppers, tomatoes, grapefruit, and yautía—the change could generate about $73.6 million in direct economic activity and approximately $117.8 million, or nearly $118 million, when indirect economic effects are included.
Across the island, farmers continue growing coffee, plantains, root vegetables, fruits, herbs, vegetables, and other local products. Supporting locally grown food can help keep more economic activity within Puerto Rico while strengthening the connection between the island's farms and its culinary traditions.
For visitors, discovering Puerto Rican cuisine is therefore about much more than tasting a finished dish. Every plantain, root vegetable, pepper, herb, and cup of locally grown coffee carries a piece of the island's agricultural history.
At Heaven Hills Kitchen, we believe understanding where our ingredients come from makes Puerto Rican food even more meaningful. Whenever possible, supporting local farmers also helps preserve the ingredients, knowledge, and traditions behind Puerto Rican cooking.
From the mountains and farms to the pilón and the table, the story of Puerto Rican food begins with the land. Farm to Table Puerto Rico.
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