NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The 17th edition of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) began here on Tuesday with the acknowledgment of the regional potential for agriculture and the region’s inherent challenges to farming and agri-business.
Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davis, delivering the feature address at the CWA, which will feature several activities, including a meeting of the region’s agriculture ministers, said the need for more resilient agri-food systems looms large.
“This year, as you would have heard, CARICOM (Caribbean Community) research suggests that 52 percent of the English-speaking Caribbean faces food security issues. The region has seen, across the board, food inflation in double digits over the past few years, largely due to supply chain issues related to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, and the hostilities are growing in the Middle East”.
Davis said the region’s food systems and economies are susceptible to natural disasters and climate-driven weather.
But he said despite these challenges, he remains hopeful about the agricultural prospects in the Caribbean, noting that in the past year, the percentage of people facing good security issues has decreased.
“And we are well on our way to achieving the goal of reducing regional food imports by 25 percent by 2025. Collectively, we have achieved 50 percent of this ambitious target. This represents a great stride forward in feeding ourselves and creating a sustainable agriculture industry.”
Davis said that the Caribbean is also poised to see an “agricultural boom,” informing the audience that even in historically tricky environments, “we are seeing innovations that allow for sustainable farming practices, sustainable from a food production perspective, and a business model perspective.
“While this progress gives us hope, it will take more than hope to fulfill our agricultural potential. It requires united action, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to feeding ourselves as a regional policy priority.”
He said the theme of the CWA, “‘Accelerating Vision 25 by 2025,” is more than just a slogan and represents the Caribbean’s shared mission.
“It’s an ambitious journey that recognizes the urgency of our present and the potential of our future. We have learned from the challenges of the past few years and have emerged more resilient and purpose-driven than ever.”
He said the Bahamas is making unprecedented investments in food production and security through climate, land, and research grants and infrastructural support through packing houses, abattoirs, and other publicly funded facilities.
“We also have plans to drive a domestic take-over of egg production with long-term goals of targeting the lucrative poultry market,” he said, noting that Nassau is not alone in that regard.
“Countries like Belize are investing in significantly boosting agricultural production. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the innovative Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Agricultural Competitiveness Project linked domestic farms to opportunities within the local tourism market. In Jamaica, the work continues to expand and diversify food exports. And many others throughout the region are following suit.
“We are uniquely prepared to overcome the existing challenges. While the global community has recently come to terms with the fragility of international food systems, for us in the Caribbean, this has always been the reality,” Davis said.
He said a few miles to the south, the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, in the 1800s, was exporting millions of pineapples around the world, recalling that pineapples from Eleuthera were used to start Hawaii’s pineapple industry.
“However, due to soil exhaustion, pests, diseases, and international competition and trade laws, the booming global Eleuthera pineapple industry declined significantly. This is just one historical example representing the difficulty of farming in our region. Other challenges, like the cost of importing agricultural inputs like fertilizer and the cost of labor, compound the issues posed by our geography.
“Yet, I do not doubt that if the knowledge and technology that exists today were around back then, the enterprising people of Eleuthera would have found a way to grow and harvest their pineapples sustainably.”
Davis said the good news is that the region can take advantage of those advances.
“Just as the island of Eleuthera is expanding its pineapple production once again, we can leverage innovations to begin laying the foundation for expanded food production capacity and enhanced long-term food security for our Caribbean people.
“There is the opportunity to learn from one another, support one another, and establish agricultural trade policies to fill market gaps. We must combine our strengths if we truly want to accelerate progress to our 25 by 2025 goal.”
Davis said that the work done by institutions like Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), CARICOM Secretariat, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Institute (CARDI) has painted a vision of what’s possible when stakeholders come together.
“Seventeen editions of the CWA have shown that our collective will is more vital than any obstacle. But this is just the beginning. Now, more than ever, as we find ourselves at the intersection of global disruptions and local realities, we must accelerate our vision.
“Let’s think beyond just feeding our communities. This means looking into the potential for valuable non-food crops for industrial and medicinal use,” Davis said, “and it means imagining the Caribbean that is the epitome of sustainable agricultural practices, a hub for agricultural innovation, and an example for the world to follow.”
The CWA, the premier event on the region’s agriculture calendar, is organized by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with several major partners, including IICA, CARDI, the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), the FAO, the World Food Programme as well as the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Agriculture Alliance for the Caribbean (AACARI) and the OECS.
The organizers said It provides a forum for the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors within the region to highlight the importance of agriculture and rural life to the economic, social, and environmental stability of member states.
It also allows the significant stakeholders in agriculture and related sectors to forge a shared vision for developing agriculture and enhancing rural life.
In her address, CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett said this year’s theme reinforces the region’s ongoing commitment to food and nutrition security, agricultural development, investment, and innovation.
She said there have been several notable programs and achievements across the region since the launch of the 25 by 2025 Initiative in 2018, even with the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Member states have been working to create an enabling environment for inclusive, resilient agriculture and food sectors. Efforts have been made to increase budget allocations and support digitization and innovation, climate change adaptation, and regional investment, especially in niche high-value commodities.”
She said the weeklong CWA is designed to bring together critical regional decision-makers from both the public and private sectors so that stakeholders in the agriculture and related sectors can continue to forge and advance a shared vision.
“Technical sessions will focus on carefully selected topics, such as animal and plant health, food safety, fisheries, research, innovation, digitization, youth and women involvement, climate change, and trade facilitation. They will provide insights to inform strategies and projects to facilitate the growth of agriculture in the region.”
Barnett said that the region is working together towards finding solutions to the challenges of transportation, agriculture financing, and insurance, which, she said, are critical to the sector’s development.
“Actions are being taken to facilitate intra-regional trade by addressing animal health and food safety, legislation, and administrative practices. All in all, fundamental groundwork is being laid to fast-track additional successes.
“We are now at the halfway point of our 25 percent by 2025 Initiative. At this time, we must maintain sight of our target. We must leverage the agriculture sector to empower farmers and food producers, especially our women, young people, and rural communities.
“We must reduce the region’s growing food import bill and ensure food and nutrition security for future generations of our region. We expect that the engagements from this Week will further advance regional priorities and emphasize the region’s vigorous commitment to food and nutrition security,” Barnett told the audience.
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