– Carigold Signature reveals in latest publication

THE CARICOM Secretariat and the Guyana and Barbados governments have reported significant progress in the drive to reduce the region’s exorbitant food import bill.

“CARICOM has been making commendable advancements in innovation and policy reform in agriculture. These gains contribute to the Region’s appeal as a preferred option for Investments,” CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett said in a special Caribbean Food Security Report in the 2024 edition of Caribbean Business and Travel, produced by Florida-based Carigold Signature.

According to a press release, the 25 per cent by 2025 CARICOM Food Security Initiative, spearheaded by Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley as the other key advocate for slashing the U.S. 6 billion dollars of food imports into the region, has breathed fresh life into the regional integration movement,” Chief Executive Consultant of Carigold Signature, Sandra Ann Baptiste stated in the editorial.

“It’s a game changer. It’s a vision and strategy that has been gaining steam and we are seeing investments on the ground and commitment from governments at levels we have never seen before,” Progamme Manager, Agriculture and Agro-Industrial Development at the CARICOM Secretariat Shaun Baugh declared.

Baugh noted that Latin America and the Caribbean are the only regions globally which are improving their food security status.

“I am optimistic that by the end of 2025 we will have reduced the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent or surpass that goal,” Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, the Chairman of the CARICOM Ministerial Committee on the 25 per cent by 2025 project said.

Minister Mustapha reported that the US $14-million-dollar Guyana food terminal at Yarrowkabra on the Linden-Soesdyke highway, is scheduled to be completed mid-2025. Several phases of the project have started and contracts have been awarded.
The release added that the Barbados government is expected to begin construction of its food terminal, which will store produce for exports, before the end of this year and be operational in early 2026.

Officials of the Caribbean Private Sector Organization (CPSO), which has been focused on boosting trade and enhancing logistics, and Republic Bank, which has allocated US$20 million for food security projects in Guyana, provided updates on their role in Caribbean food security programme.

Both the Guyana and Barbados governments are anticipating that the regional ferry service that will move produce and passengers to their respective countries and to Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, will be operational by the end of 2024.

Further, the governments and CPSO have identified several investment opportunities including for beef, mutton, pork, chicken, shrimp, corn and soya production, root vegetables and coconut production and processing, as well as for spices and sauces. Capital is also being sought for several large-scale investment projects, the release said adding that the 2024 business magazine also highlights the contribution of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and Export Barbados to the Caribbean food security project.

This year’s business publication also features the new Executive Director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency, Dr. Damie Sinanan and the new Secretary-General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Dona Regis-Prosper, who identify priorities under their leadership.

The business magazine showcases two special publications produced by Carigold Signature this year – the “Caribbean Perspectives” book by author Sandra Ann Baptiste, a collection of articles on over 30 years of CARICOM, which was launched in May by President Ali, and the 2024 Caribbean Tourism and Hospitality investment Guide, which promotes investment opportunities in 21 Caribbean countries.

The 2024 Caribbean Business and Travel publication also focuses on the annual Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS) being held in Barbados from November 13-15, and also has travel features on Barbados and The Bahamas, the release added.