Even as the United States yesterday reiterated its pledge of US$28 million to the Caribbean for agricultural development, President Irfaan Ali also made a pitch to Washington for an additional US$25 million for vulnerable groups of women and youth.
“I put forward a proposal to have a further [US$] 25 million made available, through grants and low cost loans for youth and women and agriculture, especially for projects dealing with sustainability, technology and research like hydroponics. These are projects that will ensure resilience in the food production system and encourage young people and women to participate,” the president was quoted as saying in a broadcast, following a multilateral meeting of several CARICOM heads and US Vice President Kamala Harris, held in Washington, DC.
Among those present at yesterday’s meeting with the US Vice President were President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley; Prime Minis-ter of Barbados, Mia Mottley; and the President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi, who is also Caricom’s Chairperson.
The US and the Caribbean have established three sub-committees on Agricul-ture, Finance and Energy, respectively.
Harris said that the meeting follows a promise at a previous one at the Summit of the Americas, held earlier this year, with Heads of the Caribbean, that the US would ensure that they “meet more often going forward. “We have pledged to increase our commitment and engagement with the Caribbean.”
Zooming in on the importance of food security, Harris said that the US understands that disruptions from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global food crisis, have put pressure on countries and led to food shortages.
She posited that these are the reasons why the US has committed and developed a series of actions which it intends to execute.
“In particular, we will promote good agricultural practices and do what we can to enhance those practices in the Caribbean. We will contribute to addressing the logistical barriers to transportation. And as we know, that is a very important detail when we are talking about combatting food insecurity anywhere, in
particular in the Caribbean. We will remove non-tariff barriers to facilitate movement of the food in the region. We will incorporate climate smart technology into the food protection system and production system. And we will also provide training on areas such as pest management a very important detail and something that must be addressed,” the US Vice President outlined.
In his broadcast statement, Ali said that a number of issues were discussed and pointed to the US$28 million given to support the region.
With this country holding the responsibility of chairing the US-CARICOM-Dominican Republic sub-committee on food security and agriculture, the president also underscored that food security is a top priority and both sides yesterday agreed that the issue has to be addressed.
“In terms of agriculture, there has been tremendous progress on the sub -committee. Not only an announcement by the US that $28 million will be available immediately, to look at the short term activities in supporting the increase in food production and bettering agriculture in the region, we have [also] agreed in tackling the interregional trade barriers… We have agreed that we will have a common agenda in which we will support a common certification programme, sanitary and phytosanitary programme that will ensure that all of us are operating on the same playing field and that the barriers to trade are removed.”
Integrated energy plan
The president gave a broad synopsis of yesterday’s meeting and also explained that an integrated energy plan was discussed.
“As you are aware, Barbados, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are key players in the energy sector. I proposed at the meeting that the US engage these countries in an effort to build a sustainable development strategy for energy security – not only for the region, but for the US and for the oil field.”
The White House in a statement, gave a breakdown of actions to be taken by the US for each of the sub-committees areas.
The statement echoed Harris’ announcement that the US government will send a multi-agency delegation to the region sometime next month, “to develop technical assistance packages and prepare viable energy projects that are attractive to investors.”
Among other plans for the area of energy cooperation, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will host an energy procurement orientation visit for Caribbean officials in October 2022 to share best practices with key stakeholders and support the region’s energy infrastructure development goals.
The US departments of Commerce and State will also host a Caribbean regional trade mission as well as business conferences and roundtables in October 2022, to facilitate executive-level matchmaking between project developers, technology providers, and government officials.
Actions to promote access to finance
For actions to promote access to finance, the White House said that during fall of 2022, the Administration will continue work to expand access to US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) financing for private sector-led projects in the Caribbean.
“The U.S. Treasury Department will intensify its engagement with Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) in Fall 2022 in an effort to expand access to development finance for Caribbean countries, including by exploring temporary access to World Bank Group (WBG) resources for climate vulnerable International Bank for Reconstruction and Development graduates following extreme events, exploring options to expand the use of MDB debt deferment clauses, and launching negotiations to double the capital for the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Invest).The U.S Treasury Department will explore U.S. membership in the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), including through consultations with the U.S. Congress and discussions with the Office of Management and Budget and consistent with U.S. standards for membership in multilateral development banks, in Fall 2022,” it outlined.
“The U.S government will elevate engagement with Caribbean nations to improve access to correspondent banking, including by convening a correspondent banking working group in fall 2022. Reestablishing the US-Caribbean public-private bank dialogue in late 2022/early 2023, and helping Caribbean nations establish a single bank to consolidate cross- border flows across the region,” it added.
Zero Hunger Caribbean Plan
And on actions to promote food security, in the near-term, actions will be carried out under the new Zero Hunger Caribbean Plan.
“Conversations will continue regarding additional work in the medium- to long-term under the Zero Hunger Caribbean Plan. As follow-up to commitments at the Summit of the Americas, the U.S Government is providing the Caribbean with [US] $28 million in assistance to address urgent food security needs. This fall, USAID will deploy five advisors to the Caribbean region. Consultants will be mobilized in the following areas: efficient use of fertilizer; bio fertilizer production; nutrient management; crop insurance feasibility; and to develop an operational logistics and supply chain model to streamline intraregional trade,” the statement said.
“In response to feedback from Caribbean interlocutors, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency is conducting three capacity-building training sessions to promote pesticide management and strengthen food security. USAID launched a project in August 2022 and for the next five years will work with Caribbean officials to address non-tariff barriers that restrict the movement of food and exacerbate food insecurity in the region. USAID will launch a climate adaptation project to incorporate climate smart technology into food production systems on/about December 2022. USAID is actively collaborating with CARICOM and the Dominican Republic to develop the medium- and long-term action plan that will guide ongoing efforts to enhance food security in the region,” it added.
President Ali said he believes that “Guyana is better off with these meetings today.”
