(Trinidad Newsday) The conversation surrounding food security has captured the attention of many sovereign states and more so for small island developing states in the last three years or so.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the conversation forward and at the recently concluded 37th Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Quito, Ecuador, several Caricom heads called for a policy to address rising food prices. Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, food security was paramount for the region, they added.
The idea of attaining regional food security was nothing new, said Jamaican High Commis-sioner Arthur HW Williams. Business Day sat down with him at his office in St Clair last week to get an insight into his country’s perspective into the topic.
He said the region was well equipped to grow and produce many of the foods imported and questioned why initiatives were not put in place to form stronger bilateral and multilateral partnerships in this regard.
“We have all the infrastructure, synergies, we eat mostly the same things across the Caribbean and so our food production can be significantly enhanced, providing we agree to trade with each other.
“Yes, Caricom has the master plan, but every territory must have their own plan. Food security is an age-old problem, it did not just arise with the pandemic and we as a region, as a people, are not doing enough. Hopefully, the pandemic would have taught us that we need to do more.”
For instance, he said there was no need to import livestock because the sector was capable of adequately meeting the demands, with the right investments.
“Why are we importing lamb? Do you know how much money the hotels in Jamaica spend importing products like lamb? Why can’t we dent that market? Even if we cannot supply for the vast majority right now; it would be a step towards production and the more we produce the less we import.”
Additionally, he pointed out that farmers needed to be adequately looked after to ensure that they were not discouraged from feeding the region’s population.
Williams said too many times farmers were given promises for investments and infrastructure, yet they continued to be neglected.
“There are so many areas that one could look at in terms of reducing the region’s food import bill.
“We have to guarantee our farmers that when they go out to plant they have somewhere to sell. Too often they have gone out, taken their savings and invested in production and when the time came for sales there were all kinds of sad stories [from commercial buyers].”
So then, how can this be achieved? The FAO has reported the agri-sector contributed between nine and 35 per cent of the gross domestic product in Latin America and Caribbean states and 25 per cent of their exports.
One sure way Williams said was regional co-operation, which was also not a new concept and to use land space in the bigger countries – Guyana, and Suriname – to grow food.
“Guyana and Suriname with vast acreage of land can significantly expand agricultural output. It is up to the ministers of agriculture in the region to use the initiative of Caricom to really set out a workable programme that will bind all the Caricom countries to ensure that we substantially increase food production, so we can see the reduction in our import bills.”
At the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in San Pedro, Belize, earlier in March, Caricom Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett said through various initiatives it was hoped that regional food importation would decrease by 25 per cent by 2025.
Also at that meeting, Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali who heads CARICOM’s quasi-Cabinet on agriculture, agricultural diversification, and food security, said a fund of US$100 million in financing for the development of the agriculture sector should be set up. The Trinidad-based Republic Bank will be offering this facility.
Williams said the target was not difficult to achieve but it required Governments commitment and change in thinking.
“I don’t think it is all that difficult to achieve. What it requires is the commitment of the governments to see it as a priority and that it is a sector that they will not compromise on.”
“It is also going to require a change in mindset in the same way that every ministry of government has to recognize that climate change affects everybody. They have to recognize that food production is everything.”
Williams said as sovereign states chose to form and be a part of an organization such as CARICOM, actions and commitments needed to be adhered to the various decisions taken, especially in the agricultural sector.
“It can be difficult, in the sense that our priorities are not the same and it is not a one-size fits all but if we are committed as a region, we can be a powerhouse.”
The geopolitical climate, Williams pointed out was unstable and as the Russia-Ukraine war persists, food and oil prices will likely drive inflation even higher.
He added that as households struggle to recover from the pandemic, further price increases in basic food items could exacerbate an already volatile system of poverty and hunger.
Newsday
Thursday March 31, 2022
