NO living organism can survive without food. This is true for human beings as it is for any of the lower animals. Yet there are millions of people, especially in the developing world, who suffer from starvation and malnutrition. The statistics show that approximately 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die on a daily basis from hunger and related diseases.

Some 854 million people are estimated to be undernourished. Fortunately, Guyana and the wider Caribbean have been spared the food devastation experienced by some countries, even though more can be done to expand food production in the region.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Guyana, Suriname and Belize are the only countries in CARICOM that are importing fewer food products than they export. The food-import bill of CARICOM is approximately $5B annually, which is a significant drain on the region’s scarce foreign exchange resources.

It is in the above context that President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, who currently holds lead responsibility for Agriculture, Agriculture Diversification and Food Security in CARICOM, issued a call for an across-the-board reduction of 25 per cent in food imports by 2025.

This call was made by President Ali during his recent address at the 101st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). This call cannot be more timely and relevant especially in view of rising food prices due in part to climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the words of President Ali, “It is either we are serious about this or we are not serious about this — we have to decide. This is not an individual country trying to achieve something: this is about a collective. This is about us being successful together… we cannot advance this if the commitment and the full participation is not there.”

In his capacity as the Chair of the meeting, the President initiated a discussion on the updates provided by the Special Ministerial Taskforce (MTF) on Food Production and Food Security. The meeting examined areas in which there could be increases in food production and on the basis of such identification to come up with an action plan which should include budgeting, technical resources and investment.

According to President Ali, the intention is to be in a position to lead an effort to mobilise technical help and financial resources and to work with member states to achieve the set targets. Guyana’s Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, who is the current Chair of the Ministerial Task Force, provided the meeting with a progress report on the work done so far. Also discussed were plans to expand regional poultry production, climate-change resilient agriculture, raising agricultural productivity, technical support, import-substitution, consumption patterns, data collection and agro-processing, among others.

There still remain a number of challenges in terms of regional trade, among which are the removal of non-tariff barriers as a means of promoting intra-regional trade and quick resolution of sanitary and phytosanitary disputes.

Guyana is known for its fertile lands. It is the only country in the Anglo-phone Caribbean with such large expanse of agricultural lands, which, over the decades, have produced a wide variety of agricultural products both for domestic consumption and for export. Guyana remains the largest producer of rice and sugar among CARICOM countries and has the potential to meet almost the entire food needs of the region. Given its natural advantage as an agro-based economy, the country is now seeking to boost agricultural production with a view to strengthen food security in the region, open up new export markets, improve the earning levels of farmers and earn higher levels of foreign exchange.  Guyana has the highest number of people in the Caribbean who are employed in the agricultural sector, employing roughly 30 per cent of its entire labour force.

The country’s main agricultural exports continue to be rice and sugar. However, in recent times the country has been diversifying its product range to take advantage of the growing demand for food not only in the region but in the global market. A sum of $22B has been allocated in the 2022 Budget for the sector. Guyana is uniquely poised to take advantage of agricultural production and trade in the region and is fully committed to the Caribbean Community Twenty-Five by 25 initiative which aims to cut regional food import bill by 2025. President Ali and his PPP/C administration has demonstrated that with the political will and sound policies, the regional targets can be met.