by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) reached an agreement prioritising joint actions in this region to strengthen food and nutrition security in the Caribbean and climate resilience in the agricultural sector.
The signing of the agreement is a symbolic gesture emphasising the renewed commitment of CARICOM to work closely with IICA.
Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM, says the region’s estimated US$6 billion import food bill combined with the humanitarian situation in Haiti, a critical issue which requires urgent support to address the food and nutritional insecurity of its inhabitants, express the clear need for the region to do more in becoming food sustainable states.
CARICOM Secretary-General Barnett signed the agreement at the IICA Headquarters in San José, Costa Rica, where she met with Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA, which specialises in agriculture and rural development.
According to a statement from IICA, the agreement proposes joint advances in policymaking for agricultural and rural development, production systems, promotion of value chains, resilience of the agricultural sector and improvement of land use in the Caribbean countries.
Barnett described the Caribbean as a valuable pillar in the development of agriculture, and unity of purpose is required to improve living conditions in the region.
Most countries are net importers of food in the Caribbean. According to the Secretary-General, at least seven states import more than 80% of their food. She also emphasised that digital technologies must be incorporated to increase productivity, assist in removing trade barriers, and improve transportation services for agri-food products among the island states in the region.
CARICOM and IICA recognise the importance of working in an integrated manner on regional initiatives such as the Alliance for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture, the Special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security, and the Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Cluster and the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (October 04-08), the main event of the agricultural sector in the region.
IICA also suggests adopting agricultural practices that are in synergy with the native vegetation of the land; sustainable farming practices, such as direct seeding, crop rotation and the planting of cover crops. According to IICA, implementing those suggestions will enable countries to significantly address agricultural decarbonisation and protect the health of soils, a critical resource for agricultural production and global food security.
The St. Kitts and Nevis government unveiled their 25 by 25 agenda geared towards reducing the Federation’s food import bill by $50 million with a focus on crop sustainability, investments in agro-processing, and tackling one of the country’s most significant imports, chicken, 90% of which is imported.
