OVER the years, agriculture in the Caribbean has continued to decline, and with the erratic global food prices and the growing food import bill, the region must now produce its own food; and so, it is all the more important that we explore ways to revive the agriculture sector to ensure food security within the region. The region must see agriculture as a holistic plan to fight poverty, increase investments and connect to smallholders expanding the sector, to generate jobs and provide food security.

Agriculture continues to be of vital importance towards achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction within developing countries. Since the agriculture sector is of key importance towards the attainment of economic growth, poverty reduction and food security, there is need to enhance and expand this sector, especially to cushion the impact of the global food crisis.

Over the last 15 years, agriculture growth is responsible for extreme reduction in rural poverty in East Asia. Developing countries must focus more on the need to establish more versatile and stronger agriculture poverty reduction strategies to cope with the food and fuel crisis and also climate change.

Since the demand for food, feed, and bio-fuels are rising and with climate change the global food supplies are pressured and the increased demand for food will cause food prices to rise. Also, with climate change, countries must ensure that their agriculture policies are based on sustainable production systems and at the same time promote the protection of the environment.

In 2003, agriculture represented a total of G$5,501,000,000 of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that is, 31.5% of GDP. The agriculture sector in Sub Saharan Africa accounts for 32% of its GDP, and countries such as China, India, and Morocco are seeking to transform their agriculture sectors so as to produce more to avoid the escalation of the global food crisis.

The Jagdeo Initiative seeks to propose a solution to the region’s agriculture problems and functions as a mechanism to activate the Regional Transformation Programmes on Agriculture (RTP), or its successor, the Caribbean Community Agriculture Policy.

Caribbean countries are most dependent on Agriculture; and governments have agreed that the ‘Jagdeo Initiative’ should be viewed as priority within the region. Ministers of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), investors, multilateral financial institutions, commercial bankers and the ordinary people must collaborate and work together, in order to make the Jagdeo Initiative workable.

We must understand that, agriculture in the Caribbean has links to the other productive sectors of a country’s economy. And so, it is imperative to recognize the value of food products and non-food products.

Although the Jagdeo Initiative is a proposal to solve the region’s agricultural problems, it is not a one off process. It rather necessitates the identification of agriculture problems, undertaking of surveys, proper documentation and examination of works in progress and works completed to reach sustainable solutions.

The region needs to work together in order to successfully play their part to realize the Millennium Development goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
MARISSA LOWDEN