With a whopping food import bill and 30% of food being imported into the Caribbean, the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) is calling for implementation of critical policy changes to reduce Caribbean import bills, and by extension Caribbean debt.
According to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat, “agriculture remains a major pillar of Caricom Member States economies and has the potential to build economic resilience and drive inclusive socio-economic development of the Region.”
Data provided by the CPDC in its recently published study entitled, “A Sustainable Food Systems and Policy Framework for Small and Medium Scale Food Producers in Selected Caricom Countries” which interrogates the state of food and nutrition security and sovereignty in 5 Caricom member states: Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, for the 2010-21 period, the average annual food import bill for Jamaica was US$846 million, Barbados was US$303 million; Guyana’s was US$239 million; St Vincent and the Grenadines was US$81 million, and Grenada stood at US$77 million.
Additionally, the study, which was authored by Professor Fitzroy Henry, Regional Public Health Nutrition Expert, and Dr Tigerjeet Ballayram, Economist, revealed that in all 5 countries, the main public health problem is the increasing prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as nutrition-related diseases, which are preventable.
The regional body, as it advocates for the reduction of debt in the Caribbean, in a related November policy brief on its study, suggested that by addressing regional food security and sovereignty issues, concerns related to unsustainable debt, lack of access to affordable and nutritional foods and economic sustainability can be addressed. These can be achieved by providing training, access to markets, modern farming techniques financial assistance such as loans or grants to food producers, and an enabling policy environment in which local food production in the Caribbean can be improved.
The CPDC opined that if support is given to the development of agribusinesses and value-added industries such as food processing, packaging, and storage, food import bills can be reduced. It further asserts that rural infrastructure needs to be improved to facilitate the movement of agricultural goods from rural areas to urban markets.
Another critical policy change that the CPDC is recommending is the adoption of sustainable farming practices, which can reduce input costs, improve soil fertility, conserve water resources, and minimise the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers.
The CPDC calls on regional bodies and policymakers to foster regional cooperation on initiatives such as joint purchasing, bulk procurement, and regional trade agreements to leverage economies of scale necessary to reduce the cost of imported food items.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO), which serves as a regional umbrella organisation for Caribbean non-governmental organisations, also highlighted the need for the establishment of local farmers’ markets, cooperatives, and direct sales channels should also be encouraged.
According to the organisation, “These initiatives can connect farmers directly with consumers, eliminate intermediaries, and provide fair prices for both producers and consumers.”
The CPDC supports the Caricom 25% by 2025 Reduction in the Regional Food Bill Initiative which seeks to reduce the regional import bill by prioritising key imported food products. The CPDC urges various stakeholders to work with micro, small and medium-scale producers to ensure that their resiliency is enhanced, and their viability is preserved.
CPDC