Caricom achieved 12% cut in food imports for 1st quarter of 2024 – Pres Ali

Caribbean Community (Caricom) States collectively reduced their food imports by 12 per cent in the first quarter of this year, President Dr Irfaan Ali revealed in a report presented at the recent 47th Caricom Heads of Government Meeting.
The report formed part of the recent communiqué sent out by the regional bloc at the conclusion of the recent meeting in St George’s, Grenada. It states that President Ali, in his capacity as the Lead Head of Government with responsibility for agriculture, reported not only a 12 per cent decline in real imports, but also that 30 per cent of the targets set for food security had also been achieved.

“His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Lead Head of Government for Agriculture and Food Security, reported that the Region was realising measured progress in its efforts towards regional food and nutrition security, with the April 2024 Caricom/World Food Programme Livelihood Survey indicating a 17% reduction in food insecurity,” the communiqué states.
“He also noted that these achievements were before Hurricane Beryl which devastated the agriculture sector of the affected States and damage assessments were ongoing. Early estimates are that the passage of Hurricane Beryl has resulted in losses to the Region’s agriculture sector (excluding fisheries) of some US$159.3 million,” it adds.
Other agricultural-related achievements were taken note of during the meeting, including the development of a Regional Youth in Agriculture Strategy and the launch of the Regional Economic Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP) on July 26, 2024. These were recognised as positive steps towards building resilience and production.

“Heads of Government urged regional financial institutions to provide a special programme of support to the agriculture stakeholders and enterprises towards recovery and rehabilitation of the sector.
“They also agreed to the adoption of a regional resilient Farmstead- Shadehouse Model geared towards the economic improvement of rural family farms. This model is adaptable to the specific circumstances of particular Member States,” the communiqué also notes.
The farmstead-shadehouse model is one that President Ali himself has been pushing for adoption by more and more homeowners, with plans afoot to have this model implemented in new housing schemes being built on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

Farmsteads
Only recently, the Government launched a programme that would see 100 acres of land being offered to young people who have either completed studies or are currently pursuing studies at the University of Guyana (UG) and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) to work on farmsteads and develop agri-based businesses.
The initiative, which would be spearheaded by the Agriculture Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme in collaboration with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), was announced by President Ali himself.
The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) would also be a partner in this project, which would come on stream in six weeks’ time and would provide the opportunity for agriculture students to relocate to farms along the Linden- Soesdyke Highway.
In fact, he had said that the Government was already in talks with commercial banks to develop financing options in regard to this project. According to President Ali, it is envisioned that the students would cultivate crops such as breadfruit, coconut, and red beans sustainably, to combat some of the effects of climate change.
Such an initiative comes at a time when the demand for food in the poultry, aquaculture and cash crop sectors continues to rise, even though Guyana has experienced exponential growth in its agriculture sector over the last four years.
With this expanded programme, the Government is targeting at least 500 farmsteads. Additionally, the Government will seek to link the production from these 500 farmsteads to a market.
Not long after this announcement, President Ali had also signalled the impending launch of a bold homestead agriculture programme that would see single mothers being provided with low-income homes that will come with permanent crops and shade houses, maximising their earning potential and aiding Guyana’s food security agenda.
The President was at the time speaking during the launch of the REAP initiative, where he also referenced plans for establishing a regional data facility that would be directly linked with farmers and allow them to make more informed farming decisions, through the use of technology.
Guyana is currently chairing the Caricom Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security, which has been driving the ‘25 by 2025’ initiative seeking to boost food production within the Region to reduce food imports.
Vision 25 by 2025 aims for the Caribbean to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in the Region’s food import bill by 2025. Owing to the Region’s dependency on imported foods, it faces hardships when disruptions to the supply chain occur. (G3)