In his latest food Security push for the Caribbean region and in Guyana, President Irfaan Ali believes that the time has come for Agriculture to be at the forefront of the food security efforts across the region.

Delivering the keynote address at the Agri-fest in Barbados over the weekend, the President said recent external events have shown that the region is vulnerable and if measures are not put in place, there can be food shortages every time there are external shocks. He said the region must now move with haste to address this development.

“We are seeing headlines across every single country about empty shelves and rising costs of food. Wheat price is forecasted to increase by 40% but worse than this increase is the ability to supply and we know in this region, like many other developing economies when there is a shortage of supply, we are not the top priority of the demand that exists, that is why we have to fix this and we have to fix it as a collective,” President Ali said.

The President said the Caribbean region stands to be impacted the most by food challenges whenever there is a fallout. He explained that the only tool to mitigate those challenges is for the region to increase its own production and remove ‘thoughtless’ trade impediments.

“We have to do a few things, not only must we produce more but we must also change our consumption pattern, we must look toward more what we produce and as farmers as government, as private sector and distributors, all of us must be part of this process,” the President noted.

There was also a call issued for distributors to change their business model and become producers also.

“And you have an excellent opportunity now because governments in the region….are ready and willing to embrace you on this journey….to embrace and support you on this journey of transforming, our food infrastructure, our food value chain,” President Ali noted.

Caribbean leaders have already commenced working on a master plan to enhance food production in the region. The region is working to reduce its food import bill by 25% by the year 2025.

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