ALTHOUGH hunger and malnutrition continue to be pressing problems in much of the developing world, the past 50 years have seen some progress. While the absolute number of people who are undernourished remains the same (about 1 billion), the proportion of the world’s population that has remained hungry has undergone a dramatic decline.
The successes that led to this achievement almost certainly offer valuable lessons about the contribution that agriculture can make in tackling hunger and poverty.
With this in mind, the Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on an ambitious Grow More food programme undertaking to assess evidence on what really works – the policies, programmes and investments in agricultural development that have actually reduced malnutrition.
The programmes resulting from the exercise present a success story whose impact is considered to be emblematic that enhance productivity to others that combat pests and diseases, conserve natural resources and expand market opportunities to Caricom and farther afield.

Government, the private sector, poor farmers, and indigenous groups must develop a better understanding of the soaring food prices and climate change which imply a complex set of challenges for the entire world.

Training and education are important in helping farmers to adopt new technologies and seed production methods. The field of information and communication management (ICM) has become central to much development thinking in recent years, a trend boosted by the massive growth in ICTs and the potential these offer.