— President Ali tells Regional Food Systems Dialogue; joins PM Mottley in urging CARICOM citizens to ‘eat local’

THE sudden spike in food prices has been previously attributed to external shocks, and, according to President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, the notable impact of these ‘external shocks’ is as a result of the Caribbean’s high dependence on food imports.
“The region’s high food import bill is estimated at more than US$4 billion per annum… if the region is to become more food secure, it has to begin to source more of its food needs from within the Caribbean,” President Ali told a Regional Food Systems Dialogue on Friday.
The virtual forum, which featured agriculture leaders from across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), including Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, served as a preparatory forum for the United Nations’ 2021 Food Systems Summit, which is slated for September, as part of Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the stipulated 2030 timeline.

In his keynote address, President Ali touched on the critical link between the environment and food security, as well as the need for improved financing to address the challenges relating to sustainability. “We cannot continue to eat third quality or second quality food when we can produce first quality food,” Dr. Ali said.
He further emphasised that “Financing for regional agriculture cannot be divorced from financing for climate reliance,” since environmental threats have a significant impact on the region’s food systems. President Ali said that the Caribbean region remains vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change, and that financing to tackle these effects have become more critical today than ever before. “We are perhaps the region that is affected in a worse way in terms of climate-related disasters, and if we assess international financing that comes our way it leaves much to be desired,” the Head of State admitted.

NOT SHORT OF SOLUTIONS

He said definitively that the CARICOM region is not short of solutions for improving food security, since a plethora of solutions can be found in many proposals, reports, studies and regional strategies. Dr. Ali made specific reference to the ‘Jagdeo Initiative’ which was put forward by former President and current Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. The initiative, according to President Ali, had identified the key binding constraints to regional agricultural development.
“Foremost among those constraints were limited financing and new investments in the sector,” Dr. Ali recalled. He said that the ‘Jagdeo Initiative’ also proposed the development of a fund to modernise regional agriculture.

“The solution exists. What is required is the political will and the financing to give effect to what needs to be done to develop the region’s food systems. I believe that the time has come, and the time is ripe for us to do so,” President Ali asserted.
The Head of State believes that the upcoming 2021 UN Food Systems Summit provides the ideal opportunity for the Caribbean to link greater resilience for its food systems with increased access to financing for sustainable development and the environment.

“It must add its voice to the appeal for the full implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development; greater grant-based financing for adaptation; greater ambitions under the National Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement on climate change; and the operationalising of the REDD Plus Mechanism for trading in carbon credits,” President Ali posited.
He also underscored the importance of establishing a “Climate Change Vulnerability Fund”.

“The Caribbean region faces many challenges in developing a competitive agri-food system that can contribute to the achievement of its food security and economic goals. One of these challenges is the region’s vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change – rising sea levels, extreme weather events and other natural disasters,” President Ali maintained.
He reasoned that given the Caribbean’s position as the second most hazard-prone region in the world, it is imperative that attention is given to building climate resilience in order to transform the region’s agri-food system.

“As I speak to you, my country along with Suriname is battling floods. In parts of the country, many of the agricultural lands are underwater. A number of our regions have been subject to torrential rainfall, which has resulted in flooding, which, in turn, has led to losses of crops and livestock,” Dr. Ali informed the forum.
The President specifically called on the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the World Food Programme, and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to be CARICOM’s partners in championing the fund that remains a critical component of the Caribbean’s survival.
“You have all summarised in every finding that the Caribbean is specifically vulnerable to the issues of climate change. You have to help us to champion the establishment of a vulnerability fund,” President Ali urged.
The Head of State said that the preservation, protection and improvement of the environment, and, by extension the food systems, are central to achieving the SDGs. “If there has ever been a time for us as CARICOM to act decisively and as a cohesive unit, it is now – in light of the need to ensure that we do not deviate from our commitment to the SDGs,” Dr. Ali said.

CONSISTENT FARMING

Similar sentiments were shared by Prime Minister (PM) Mottley, who emphasised the need for Caribbean farmers to start producing crops year-round, and not only when the region is in a crisis. “It means that there will be some need for some level of protection because they simply cannot withstand the onslaught of cheaper prices from outside, where they have the benefit of scale. Unless we confront this frontally, we will put, at risk, our own national security and the well-being of our citizens,” Mottley posited.
She said too that the Caribbean’s goal to be able to produce at least 25 per cent of its own food by 2025 needs urgent modification. “I trust and pray that our region will accept that we need to expedite the process of producing as much food regionally as we can, and that we need to come together, accepting that the true breadbaskets of the region will be Guyana, Suriname and Belize,” the PM noted. She cautioned, however, that the role of Guyana, Belize and Suriname does not remove the obligation from other member states to produce and utilise as much local foods as they can. To this end, President Ali pointed to the importance of educating the regional population on the benefits that come from eating locally produced foods. “…as my sister said, on the values of eating locally, the values of eating regionally, the values of utilising our own products. We have to take strong measures.”