Time for integrated policies, action to secure food & nutrition – Pres Ali tells CELAC

Giving the Latin American and Caribbean countries a wake-up call on Tuesday, President Dr Irfaan Ali shared the grim reality that the current framework to achieve food security and nutrition is not working, as he called for a re-engineering of current policies.
The Guyanese leader addressed the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States’ (CELAC) high-level Ministers of Agriculture meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), calling for an action plan to come out of this engagement.
Between 2019 and 2021, the number of hungry people increased by 13.2 million in the Region. Severe food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean was higher than the global average. The Region also had the highest cost attached for a healthy diet.
Fearing it will disrupt their business arrangements, Ali pointed out that distributors are also finding it easier to import ‘all junk from outside’ into the Region.
“So, we have a supply problem. We have an eating problem. We have a system problem but now we have an economic problem. Because the model we’re using to feed the people in our Region has resulted in the highest cost for a healthy diet. Something is wrong.”
“The existing framework is not working! Whatever we’re doing in this moment has given the people of our Region the highest cost for a healthy diet,” he highlighted.
Ali told regional leaders that producing more food and integrating food security objectives while reducing poverty and inequality, remains the key to ensuring food and nutrition security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Interconnected
President Ali expressed that food security and nutrition cannot be addressed as a standalone policy articulation and formulation, since it is interlinked to climate change, education, health, security and sustainable development.
“We need to start ensuring that the world understands that agriculture is about food production; food production is about nutrition; food production and nutrition is about good health; and good health and food production is about national prosperity. National prosperity is about national security,” he examined.
The idea is if children are educated, they can become the custodians of better eating habits and thereby, create a healthier population. But countries also need create a space for youths and women in agriculture.
“CELAC, as a Region, must launch an aggressive programme that seeks to involve young people and women, especially under the circumstances where statistics is showing that our hunger rate is increasing and also, our nutritional value rate is decreasing.”
Taking example from challenges coming out of the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19, the President questioned how countries can ensure security of the Region against future disasters.

Policies
The unique opportunity is created, Ali said, to highlight all the deficiencies in the trade system in the Region and allow people to benefit from lower cost for food, better nutrition and food security.
He asked, “How do we treat investment within the CELAC family? How do we get a common policy decision that we may remove corporate tax from any investment in agriculture within the CELAC Region? What are the types of policies you will recommend at the end of this conference that are so comprehensive that we must think of adopting them throughout the Region? What is the signal we want to send to our development partners?”
Ali directed that the time is long gone to rehash problems; rather, he asked for solutions and policies to be crafted.
In Caricom’s 25 per cent by 2025 plan to slash the food import bill, financing, trade barriers, women and youth involvement, transportation, financing, logistics, climate and resilience is covered. While building capacity, the countries have also turned to Brazil to enter the supply chain.
“We’re not here to dwell on the problems. You are here as policymakers to craft policies in a regional setting by learning from each other, so that we can learn to unlearn,” the President reminded the Regional Ministers.
Through the 25 by 2025 plan, Caricom has seen a turnaround with significant interest and investment in food production. For the first time in decades, there has been a major shift in action at the policy level which has attracted attention globally and created a space for dialogue.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha zeroed in that the Caribbean remains vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather events, mounting pressures on food production and the distribution system.
He urged, “We can chart the transformative path forward for our country to systems. By collaborating and sharing our experiences and knowledge, we can effectively tap on the pressing issues impacting on our agricultural sectors. Our discussion here today has the potential to create lasting impacts that will benefit our nation for generations to come.”