AS countries ramp up safety measures to address the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ministers of Agriculture within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will meet today, March 19, 2020, via video conference to create a food security response blueprint.
The discussion at the CARICOM Secretariat, Liliendaal, Georgetown, will begin at 10:00 hours.

During the meeting, the CARICOM Secretariat will present a framework document that should cover the region’s agri-food response and mitigation plans, while the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Caribbean Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation, and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will make presentations.

CARICOM’s partner agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and the World Food Programme (WFP), along with private sector interest groups will have representatives sharing in the meeting.

It is anticipated that the forum will conclude with an agreed position on how CARICOM will handle food security issues that may arise from COVID-19, as well as ensuring that the necessary support mechanisms are in place, both regionally and nationally, to safeguard food security for member states.