–fully committed to supporting initiatives geared at improving food production, reducing import bill

THE Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, endorsed a plan announced by the President of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali, that will seek to strengthen agriculture in Caribbean nations, which special emphasis on enhancing local food production.
During the recent meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), President Irfaan Ali announced that six projects will be carried out in co-operation with IICA, with a view to improving the resilience, sustainability and competitiveness of food production in a region that relies heavily on imports, despite the significant progress it has achieved in recent years.

The meeting, which brought together presidents and prime ministers, was held in Bridgetown, Barbados under the theme “Strength in Unity: Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”.
Among the special guests of the meeting chaired by Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, were UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

In Barbados, President Ali noted that with collaboration from IICA, a Digital Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) will be installed in the region, inspired by the one currently operating at the Institute’s headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Its goal will be to promote technological innovation and linkages between agriculture and tourism, while reducing the digital gap in the agri-marine value chain.

The project will involve building, equipping and managing a laboratory focused on technology-based solutions for food production and agriculture, with special emphasis on agricultural processes, public-private partnerships and support for women and youth.
“The primary objective of these initiatives, which the Institute wholeheartedly supports, is to make a decisive contribution to reducing the Caribbean region’s food-import bill. They address the need to strengthen food and nutritional security, in an effort to increase local food production, improve intraregional trade and foster the creation of wealth and economic opportunities in the agriculture sector,” Manuel Otero said.

The Director of the agency specialising in agricultural and rural development recalled that last year the Institute created the Hemispheric Fund for Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (FoHRSA) with the aim of mobilising, managing and executing resources to improve the institutional, technical and administrative capacities needed to strengthen the adaptability of the hemisphere’s agriculture sector to climate variability, which affects productive activities.

Among other actions, the fund promotes climate-resilient agro-ecological systems and mechanisms; supports capacity building for integrated water and soil management; drives the incorporation of digital technologies; and supports the adoption of sustainable animal production models to replace and reduce animal protein imports.

The other projects to be carried out together with IICA in the Caribbean region, announced by the Guyanese president, will seek to build up capacities for extension services that contribute to raising productivity and generating rural employment; improve the adaptability and resilience of coastal communities; diversify fruit production to increase food security; and add value through new products, using tools such as precision agriculture.

Caribbean nations have been undertaking significant efforts to address agri-food issues and launched their Vision 25 by 2025 programme during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Efforts will also be geared towards developing a bio-economy model for inorganic waste treatment and the generation of products; as well as improving water availability for small-scale farmers by mitigating risks associated with climate variability.
“This is a critical point in time, not only in terms of geopolitics and trade, but also food security, production and price issues. Our region is bearing the impacts of price increases in global markets for grains, meat, dairy and vegetable oils, which are products that we primarily import,” remarked President Irfaan Ali.

The president noted that Caribbean countries are working to reduce their dependence on imports and revealed that, between 2022 and late 2024, agri-food production had grown by 24 per cent.
“We have witnessed significant investments in infrastructure to support food production, including storage sites and roads to connect productive units and markets. Private investment in value chains has also increased,” he remarked.

Dr. Ali maintained that joint projects with IICA have a holistic approach, seeking not only to ensure food security but also to foster resilience, sustainability, technology incorporation and greater participation by women and youth in the agri-food sector by 2030.
“We have managed to expand production despite hurricanes, storms and floods, which destroy crops and our productive capacity. However, our farmers and policymakers have demonstrated tremendous resilience in reinvesting and ensuring that food security remains a priority for the region,” he added.
President Ali was one of the presidents who participated in the meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), IICA’s highest governing body, in 2023 in San Jose, Costa Rica. (IICA)