PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad–Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett, welcomed the move by regional countries to remove all of the impediments which have far too long retarded the growth of the regional agricultural sector.
Addressing the opening of the second Regional Agri- Investment Forum and Expo, Barnett said that the event would build on the recent Forum held in Guyana in May and facilitate targeted discussions on the strategic direction that the Region is taking towards safeguarding the food and nutrition security of its people.
“This is even more critical as we in CARICOM face the increased risk of food insecurity. This Forum is one of the several regional responses to this grim reality,” she told the opening ceremony, adding that food and nutrition security, as a multi-dimensional issue has implications for several economic and social areas, including tourism, manufacturing, healthcare costs, education, culture, and security.
Barnett said that as part of a high-level response, CARICOM, through Guyana’s President Dr. Irfan Ali and the Special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security (MTF), has placed agriculture at the forefront of production-related policies, programs, and projects for the Region.
“The MTF seeks to actively ensure a strong focus on innovation and technology transfer as we strive to increase production of the specially targeted commodities to achieve the 25 percent reduction in our food import bill by 2025.
“This encompasses water management, market information, application of technological solutions, climate resilient planting materials, sustainable land, and soil management, as well as preserving the Region’s biodiversity. The aim is to increase agri-food production to ensure the sustainable development of the Region’s agri-food system.”
Barnett said that declining rainfall and saltwater intrusion due to sea level rise compromise the Region’s water resources, requiring significant investments to ensure a safe water supply in the Region. She said that higher temperatures, pests, reductions in the agricultural labor force, and more extreme events reduce yields in the Caribbean and cause more crop losses.
The CARICOM Secretary-General said the April 2022 CARICOM/World Food Programmed livelihoods survey results were quite discouraging.
“It concluded that the incidence of food insecurity is rising and is having a devastating effect on the people of the region,” she said, noting that the key messages, as daunting as they are, include food insecurity has further increased; food prices are growing, and people are adopting negative coping strategies to make ends meet.
“To address these concerns, we have moved the talk to action. The plans and targets which we have set out for ourselves are coming together. We set out to tackle several obstacles that have been standing in our way for too long.”
She said as a result; the Region has reported advances in the approval of four “game-changing” policy actions and strategies, namely, the CARICOM Trade Policy for Animals and Animal Products which will create a harmonized procedure for all member states within the Region, the Regional Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy; the Alternate Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Dispute Resolution Mechanism; and 19 Special Guidelines for the Trade in Animal and Plant Commodities.
She also said the Region has strengthened partnerships with and among various stakeholders, including the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
(FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and several financial institutions.
“We moved closer to the free movement of agricultural workers to support this agricultural transformation when the Heads of Government agreed to a definition of agricultural workers at the July Meeting of the Conference,” she said, adding that “our work, through the Ministerial Taskforce and in collaboration with the CARICOM Private Sector Organization, has led to agreement on the priority commodities for regional investment and further development.”
Barnett said that the Caribbean’s regional and international development partners, including the FAO and IIICA, have offered solid support for our 25 percent by 2025 regional food bill reduction program.
She said the recent Summit of the Americas held in the United States has led to the establishment of a Committee of Caribbean and United States high-level representatives to consider mechanisms to support the strengthening of food security in the Region.
“Achieving food and nutrition security and, in particular, achieving the early target of reducing food imports 25% by 2025 requires us to be all on board and all hands on deck. The challenging global economic conditions have given us the clearest indication that to survive as a region; we must pull together in the spirit of the shared vision that created the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).”
She said member states had demonstrated the resolve to remove all of the impediments which have far too long retarded the growth of the regional agricultural sector, and that process, as indicated earlier, has taken off.
“There is a role for all to play. This is our Region. Our participation and support matter. We must spread the word and encourage everyone to support regionally produced agricultural commodities; plant their backyard gardens; invest in the agricultural value chain. We all have to champion the vision of regional food and nutrition security.”
Barnett said that the theme of this Forum and Expo, “Transforming Agriculture through Innovation and Investment,” is most appropriate.
“Embracing technology and innovation will be critical to overcoming our challenges. How we grow, reap, manufacture, work and engage in productive processes must change.
“They must be driven by technology through innovation. This is vital for the Region’s agriculture sector and food systems and, of course, for the economy and society as a whole,” she added.
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