With a population of 90 000 and total annual Gdp of some US$1.2 billion, the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda ranks among the world’s “high income non-Oecd” countries. But it also has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the Caribbean. A study in 2007 found that 28 percent of the country’s population was indigent, poor or at risk of falling into poverty in the event of an economic shock or natural disaster. Both happened in 2008. Global food price inflation led to steep increases in the local cost of food, which accounts for almost half of spending among the poorest households. In October that year, Hurricane Omar brought floods that swept away farmland and livestock, and caused heavy crop losses. Both events prompted the government to accelerate its plans for boosting the country’s food production, including action to promote traditional home gardening. Six years later, the National Backyard Gardening Programme produces 280 tonnes of vegetables annually and is seen as key to achieving “zero hunger” in Antigua and Barbuda.