The New F.A.C.E. of Caribbean Food System

The 20th staging of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining on Thursday, is set to take place in Trelawny from September 27 to October 2.  

The initiative brings international partners and stakeholders from each member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to create a new F.A.C.E of Caribbean food systems.

 

F: Food Security

Agriculture Minister of Guyana and Chairman of the CARCOM Special Ministerial Task Force on Food Security and Food Production Zulfikar Mustapha says Agriculture remains deeply connected to the economic and social fabric of the region.

Mustapha said, “It sustains livelihoods, supports rural communities, contributes to economic growth and plays a critical role in reducing poverty and improving nutrition and health outcomes. However, we also recognise that the sector continues to face significant challenges.”

He said climate variability, rising production costs, global supply chain disruptions, natural disasters and market instability continues to affect food production and food availability across CARICOM. 

 

A: Agro Business

Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green says farmers, especially those with factories who are also manufacturers should be able to successfully manage their enterprises on their own.

Minister Green said, “We have to focus on Agro-business innovation technology, value added products and we have to ensure that in the region we are using the Caribbean Week of Agriculture to look at regional, blended financing options to ensure that our small-scale farmers, whether in Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados or St Kitts can have access to financing.”

 

C: Climate-Smart Technologies

Director-general of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) Dr Muhammad Ibrahim says IICA is promoting resilient agricultural practices through soil health management and adoption of climate resilient systems.

Ibrahim said, “This year’s CW team, the New F.A.C.E. of Caribbean Food Systems, transformation and resilience will take place almost a year after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes, that destroyed agriculture production and infrastructure, and disrupted farming livelihoods.”

 

E: Export Expansion

As the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) champions the 25 by 2025 + 5 initiative, aimed at reducing extra-regional agri-food imports by 25% by 2025, CEO and Technical Director of the CPSO Dr Patrick Antoine says Phase 1 must be heavily assessed by the following questions before the next phase can be successful.

He asked, “How did we perform on real trade flows? How did we perform on private sector investment? How did we perform in growing and expanding our agri-food community?  And where did the uptake of these opportunities not deliver on the promise of the opportunities?”

Antoine questioned whether issues outlined are related to logistics, access to capital, scale constraint standards, certification barriers, price competitiveness, policy coherence, or a combination of gaps across the value chain that made otherwise viable opportunities commercially unattractive. 

He said those are the questions that will determine whether the next phase, the plus 5 phase of the regional agenda, achieves the outcomes CARICOM is collectively seeking.