‘We must be bold, aggressive in improving regional food security’ -President Ali

-at CARICOM Regional Dialogue on Food Security

His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali says the Caribbean must be bold and aggressive in improving food systems within the Region.

The President made this pronouncement on Friday during his keynote address to the CARICOM Regional Dialogue on Food Security. Dr Ali is the lead Head of Government in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet with responsibility for Agriculture.

The virtual event was a partnership between the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinators and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Dr. Ali said the summit has provided the opportunity for stringent advocacy for regional agriculture development. He said dialogue plays an important role, as it allows participants to deliberate on strengthening regional food security and response mechanisms to the threat of climate change.

“We must be different in this conference, we must be bold, we must be questioning, we must be aggressive in our suggestions, and our programmes and plans in addressing these issues.”

The President pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened food security in the Caribbean.  According to the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises, an estimated 155 million persons in 55 countries suffered food crises in 2020.

At the end of April 2021, the WFP had estimated that some 296 million people in 35 countries were without sufficient food. This amount represents 111 million more persons than in April 2020.

The Guyanese leader said CARICOM has been proactive in responding to the effects of the pandemic, including in the food systems. It has since established a Ministerial Task Force to advance food nutrition and security.

“The Caribbean must aim at becoming more food secure. This exercise must be sustained and must involve increased production of foods consumed within the Region.

But it must also entail increased intra-regional trade in agricultural commodities. The dismantling of barriers to the trade in agricultural commodities will enhance regional food security.”

The President also addressed the 2007 Jagdeo-Initiative, which identified the key binding constraints to Regional agricultural development. Foremost among those constraints was limited financing and new investments in the sector.

“Financing for regional agriculture cannot be divorced from financing for climate reliance. Environmental threats impact on the Region’s food systems.

Financing for mitigation and adaptation to climate change is more critical today than ever before, and is necessary to protect the Region’s food systems.”

Dr. Ali also shared a ten-point strategy, aimed at addressing difficulties in the regional food system. These include crop insurance; the creation of a vulnerability fund from IICA and the World; the commitment to the removal of trade impediments; and budget support for logistics.

The regional dialogue has paved the way for the upcoming United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit scheduled for September, as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.