Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member country Suriname, would appear to be moving to use the ‘leverage’ deriving from its recent oil recovery breakthrough to extend its interest in other region-building pursuits, this time, eyeing involvement in one of the Caribbean’s primary preoccupations, food security.
A story published in the Wednesday September 11 issue of the Trinidad Guardian discloses that Guyana’s Dutch-speaking neighbour is moving to capitalize on such opportunities as exist to export agricultural and other products to the region. The move, if it materializes, could integrate Suriname into the broader pursuit by CARICOM countries of the long sought-after shoring up of the region’s food security credentials.
While the Express article does not significantly expand on Suriname’s seeming intention to add impetus to the realization of the region’s extant food security goals, it would appear to have secured a comment from Suriname’s Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Parmanand Sewdien who reportedly dropped a broad hint that Paramaribo is disposed to joining the regional food security ‘party.’
While the advent of oil is, going forward, is certain to be the most dominant force in the Suriname’s economy, going forward, it is envisaged that, over time, the country could be contemplating ploughing significant amounts of its petro earnings into strengthening the agriculture sector. That sector is divided into three main sub-sectors, agriculture, livestock, and fisheries.
With Hurricane Beryl having only just provided a clinical demonstration of how natural disasters can decimate the Caribbean’s food security bona fides, the addition of Suriname’s food-producing capabilities to those of the rest of the region, notably, Guyana’s, could help remove the existential threat to the region’s food security linked to its vulnerability to seasonal weather rampages.
