CARICOM to collaborate on regional food security
By Ministry Of Agriculture
Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Alfred Prospere, spoke recently on plans to collaborate with other CARICOM countries to address regional food security concerns.
Divulging details of a recently concluded Agri-Investment Forum hosted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the minister said he is elated that a region-wide approach to food security will be undertaken to reduce the CARICOM food import bill by 25 percent by the year 2025.
Following two days of intensive discussions on novel ways to transform the agriculture sector through innovation and strategic investment, Minister Prospere said the time is opportune for Saint Lucia to increase engagement on the roadmap for food security, which will help devise pathways to resilient agri-food systems.
In Saint Lucia, considerations will be made to establish secure lines of financing, investment for the sector, and technical support for key agricultural institutions; improve cooperation and management of farmer, fisher and agriculture cooperatives; develop more reliable producer-buyer linkages, and adopt strategic policy to drive the agenda forward.
The minister added that the Government of Saint Lucia stands ready to support the Ministry of Agriculture in this endeavor.
Estimates extrapolated from a CARICOM-United Nations World Food Programme survey, suggests there has been an increase of one million food-insecure people in the English-speaking Caribbean since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; bringing the estimated number of food-insecure people in the region to approximately 2.8 million.
Given these high stakes for the population, it remains critical for every Caribbean country to partner and implement a rigorous plan of action to ensure wholesome food can be accessed easily by every citizen.
