–Mustapha tells UN food summit; says countries need accelerated initiatives to achieve SDGs

MANY countries in the western hemisphere are battling food insecurity and with statistics showing an increase in the struggle, wider collaborations among the Caribbean and Latin American nations will be needed, Guyana’s Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, has said.
Mustapha who chairs the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM’s) Ministerial Task Force on Agriculture was, on Wednesday, addressing several regional stakeholders at the ongoing United Nations Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome, Italy.
During a panel discussion with colleagues from the United Nations, Guatemala and Peru, Mustapha highlighted that, while efforts were being made, the Caribbean region continued to be among the most affected by food insecurity, with statistics showing an increase from 59.5 per cent to 60.6 per cent in the past year.

However, to address this, the Caribbean, he said, had been rapidly implementing programmes and collaborating to address the challenges collectively. He reminded stakeholders of the ongoing 25 by 2025 initiative to address the region’s US$6 billion food-import bill.
“What we have in CARICOM is a strong political commitment and a clear plan of action; vision 25 by 2025 is an initiative to address the reduction of CARICOM’s US$6 billion food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025
“We focus on all aspects of the food systems, including the production of primary commodities, mobilising of resources and technical support, promoting cross-border investments, removing non-tariff barriers to trade, and implementing policies that enhance regional transportation and logistics for agriculture,” Mustapha said.

Those initiatives, he further related, must not only be applicable to the Caribbean but extended to the Latin American region.
“It all starts with a conversation and willingness for partnerships …Guyana is open to assisting our fellow sister countries in whatever way we can. We have commenced bilateral engagements and also actual work with a number of countries in the Caribbean, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines to name a few,” he said.

Mustapha further expressed hope that the conversations and discussions held at the three-day conference will see fruitful partnerships being undertaken to address the food insecurity challenges.

“I encourage all to work together to identify transformative policies and actions to advance the agenda with a focus on leaving no one behind. It is my hope that our engagement today would be part of the building block for a lasting memento in support for system transformation, zero hunger and sustainable development,” Mustapha said.

ACCELERATED ACTION
He also issued a call for accelerated action to be taken as the timeline for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was fast approaching.

The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all persons enjoy peace and prosperity.
With just seven years remaining to achieve these goals, Guyana has already started making efforts to mitigate the challenges affecting the country and its people.

“We have started by increasing budgetary allocations to agriculture by 150 per cent, we are investing in infrastructure farm to market roads, drainage and irrigation, laboratory and necessary structures, and agro-processing to assist our farmers to develop further so that the capacity can be built,” Minister Mustapha said.

Additionally, the country has seen an increase in private sector investments especially in the local food production sector. Those investments, he said, were being done through targeted programmes that integrate other sectors.
“Guyana strongly advocates that our approach to food security must be targeted and must involve the integration of the agriculture, health, education and technology sectors along with climate change mitigation so that food security can be better guaranteed,” Mustapha said.

He further reiterated his call for the stakeholders in the Western Hemisphere to collaborate on various programmes to address their specific needs and to achieve their goals collectively.
“If we can work collectively and work as a team, and work as one region, Latin America and the Caribbean, we can be a joint force to be reckoned with,” Minister Mustapha said.

In September 2021, the United Nations Secretary-General convened a Food Systems Summit to launch bold new actions as part of the UN’s Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs initiative.

The aim of the summit is to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about foods within the context of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and address challenges of poverty, food security, malnutrition, population growth, climate change, and natural resource degradation.