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CARICOM eyes removal of non-tariff barriers in food security drive

Oct 01, 2010 News

– adopts draft plan

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states have agreed in principle to adopt a draft Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security that, in the long run, will see less dependence on imported food.
According to CARICOM in a statement yesterday, specialists in the field of agriculture, trade, health, nutrition, and representatives of regional institutions combed through the draft policy at the Princess Hotel, on Tuesday and Wednesday, to verify whether it had rationalized, comprehensively, all factors relevant to a regional policy for food and nutrition security.
The CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, with assistance from the Government of Italy and the European Union, had convened the Validation Workshop for the Draft CARICOM Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security, to help develop a framework geared to secure higher food production; better health and nutrition; income and employment opportunities; and poverty alleviation, among other things.
“CARICOM member states, the main stakeholders in the development and implementation of the policy, reached the consensus that after adjustments were made based on their recommendations, they would propose that the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) adopt the document as a comprehensive and integrated policy to achieve the objectives of adequate, stable and nutritious supplies of food throughout the region,” CARICOM said.
The Technical Working Group guiding the process was tasked with tweaking the document to reflect recommendations of the Caribbean state.
The draft policy would be re-circulated to member states and then finalized in time for the next meeting of COTED, during the Week of Agriculture in Grenada , October 17 – 23.
The Technical Working Group includes officials of member states, University of the West Indies, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), the CARICOM Secretariat, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and FAO.
Among the action stakeholders prioritized going forward were the promotion of increased availability of regionally produced nutritious food at competitive market prices using the value chain approach; identification and mapping of vulnerable groups using a gender sensitive approach and establishment of a national and regional database of this information.
Additionally, the draft proposal is also targeting the removal of non-tariff barriers to trade (SPS-TBT barriers) that increases transaction costs and hinders access to and distribution of food within the region; promotion of healthy Caribbean diets and optimal nutrition to reduce obesity, Non Communicable Diseases and malnutrition, especially at all stages of the education system, and building of resilience to the recurring threats to food security, bearing in mind that the region is prone to the risks posed by climate change and natural disasters.
The stakeholders also agreed that the Technical Working Group should develop an action plan that would clearly outline the strategies for the implementation of the policy. An equally significant consensus was for the CARICOM Secretariat to request the continuation of FAO’s technical assistance and mobilize resources for this purpose, based on the established priorities.
In summing up the two-day deliberation, Program Manager, Agriculture and Industry, CARICOM Secretariat, Sergio Garcia, said that the Draft Regional Policy on Food and Nutrition Security was a “living document” to help the region achieve food security.
He said that while the draft policy was being finalized, sensitization and public education, especially among farmers organization, was crucial to achieve support of the policy as the flagship framework for food and nutrition security.

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