CARICOM remains on course with 25 by 25 food security initiative – Pres Ali

– reiterates calls for regional, int’l organisations to accelerate assistance

Despite the destruction of the region’s agriculture sector caused by Hurricane Beryl, which President Dr. Irfaan Ali has estimated is more than US$150 million, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is still on track to achieving its 25 by 2025 food security agenda.
The President, who is the lead Head of State on food security in the region, made this pronouncement during the closing press conference for the 47th Heads of Government meeting in St. Georges, Grenada- one of the hardest hit countries by the hurricane. According to President Ali, all the indicators point to the significant progress the region has made in slashing its food import bill.
“We were and continue to be, on track in relation to the targets we would have set. Deployment of technology, the use of innovation, the expanded involvement of youth and women in agricultural production and food systems, the expansion of production itself, and the reduction of imports, all point to the fact that we have successfully navigated the challenge of reducing the food import bill.”
“As a matter of fact, before Beryl, we saw a reduction in our food import bill of about 12 per cent and that is more than $500 Million. We saw expansion in cultivation and production from almost every member state. So, we are confident, with the investments we are making and with the type of dedication and policy formulation, from heads in the region as a whole, notwithstanding the challenges before us.”
President Ali did, however, reiterate calls for support from all regional and international organisations, revealing that CARICOM also had a meeting with Canada to discuss support for the region. According to him, they discussed ways in which Canada can accelerate support for the region, particularly after the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl.
“We will be successful in reducing that food import bill and expanding our production, especially now, focusing on high yielding, high value, short rotation crops. Especially for the tourism sector, and that would help our Agribusinesses to generate more revenue and also to be more sustainable.”
“From initial assessment, the damage to the sector from Beryl is more than US$150 Million and that is only the initial assessment. We have not even put a cost on land degradation. Because for example, in Grenada we visited some areas where obviously there was tremendous land degradation,” the President also said.
Guyana is currently chairing the Caribbean Community (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 occur.
In light of this, the intention was to formulate a sense of food stability and security… country by country, with Guyana playing a key role in helping other countries achieve greater food security. Only days ago, President Ali revealed that the Guyana Government intends to use science and technology to advance the agricultural sector.
This includes initiatives such as developing an industrial cassava flour mill, producing refined and organic sugar, and establishing a regional data facility. During the launch of the Regional Economic Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP), the Head of State mentioned that these initiatives are being pursued in collaboration with partners such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and others.