Pres. Ali warns Regional Leaders of looming food catastrophe

May 29, 2022 News

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…calls for collective approach to meeting supply challenges

Kaieteur News – Lamenting what has over the years been all talk, thinking and pondering but with no action, Head of State, President Irfaan Ali, is of the view that there is a looming food catastrophe on the horizon and as such the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) must come together as a collective to meet the challenge not only as it relates to food supply, but the security of its people.

Security, not in the “narrow” sense of the word, but security, in terms of militating against the impacts of climate change and environmental challenges, “we are talking about security in the wider context.”
These were among key points raised by President Ali, when he delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of Barbados’ AGROFEST 2022 venued at Queen’s Park Oval.
The festival saw a number of regional leaders and representatives from Guyana, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, among others, and is being hosted under the theme, “Greening Together, Ah Caribbean Thing.”
President Ali in delivering his remarks told those in attendance that “The issue of food security for this region cannot be looked at from a border perspective because each one of us in this region, each country, comes with different challenges but each one of us bring a unique opportunity in creating a solution.”
“We are meeting under very difficult circumstances, circumstances that have created havoc in many economies,” the President said as he began his address and pointed to the empty shelves in supermarkets across the world coupled with the rising cost of living and more importantly the shortage of food supply.
To this end, he proffered this is why CARICOM countries such as Guyana and Barbados have been expending significant energy towards the objective of putting agricultural and increased food production at the centre of the regions development.
Seeking to qualify his position further, the President noted that none other than the world renowned Economist has already began warning of a looming food catastrophe and observed for reference recent military missions aimed at securing baby formula.
In addition to the escalating food prices, President Ali drew reference to the fact that critical raw materials such as wheat, corn and soya and predicted that their prices on the world market would skyrocket by as much as 40 percent.
With this in mind, the President also sought to impress that the experience in the region and other developing countries are not a priority for the demands when these global phenomenon occur as he adumbrated the need to remedy the situation through increased production regionally.
In addition to the need for increased food production in the Region, President Ali was adamant there is need for the challenges to be approached as a collective.
“We have to fix this and we, have to fix this as a collective, he said, as he reiterated the need to meet the challenges not through the eyes of a body divided by borders but as a singular entity; we have to do a few things not only must we produce more we must also change our consumption pattern, we must look more towards what we produce; all of us must be a part of this process, we cannot safeguard the people of our countries’ unless each of us give a bit.”
In this regard, the President in his address sought to advance the notion of developing a new business model for the Caribbean and with this in mind, Guyana and Barbados have already begun work on building out a Master Plan for the region “to enhance our food production systems,” in addition to providing more support system for the farmers.
President Ali noted too, that in order to secure the supply chain that would be able to meet regional demands as well as international markers, there is the dire need to build production capacity in addition to upgraded transportation and logistics systems; there is a major food catastrophe coming.”
Elaborating on the need for a new business model for the region with regards agriculture and intra-regional trade, President Ali told those in attendance that the pilot that Guyana and Barbados are pursuing is meant to be replicated across the region and is meant to create a win-win situation for all.
As such, “we cannot see ourselves as opposition sides of the wicket, we have to see ourselves as a singular collective, one partner working together to bring prosperity” to the peoples’ of the regions.
This, he said, meant putting food on the tables of the region’s people at a lesser cost and in a much healthier fashion.
Having outlined the need for working together, President Ali noted that it is for this reason that for AGROFEST 2022 there are some 150 Guyanese participating, including 55 companies.
According to President Ali, “…this is just the beginning; this position will get stronger and will create a win-win for Barbados and Guyana.”
It is against this backdrop that President Ali reiterated that the relationship between Barbados and Guyana is meant to bring economic prosperity to both countries and that the leaders of the two nations were not looking aiming to look to win in one area or another, or one area for one and another area for the other.
To this end, he reminded that the new relationships in the region must also advance security, not in the narrow sense of physical security.
He did note that one of the keys to the initiatives remaining sustainable is the need to establish institutional mechanism to secure the gains had and to cement the advances had in an institutional way.
“This new environment requires a new approach,” according to President Ali, as he quipped it “requires openness and frankness in our conversations.”
After the opening ceremony, President Ali and Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, toured the exhibition and interacted with exhibitors.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond and other government officials also joined the Head of State at the event.
Several high-level representatives from other Caribbean nations were also present.

 

 

 

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