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2023 has an 85% chance of being hottest year of record – Deputy CARICOM SG
By Davina Bagot
Kaieteur News – With Guyana currently experiencing a period of prolonged dry season, this year is likely to be the hottest on record.
This information was brought to the fore by the Deputy Secretary General (SG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Armstrong Alexis during the opening ceremony of the third Regional Agri-Investment Forum and Expo at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal.
Alexis, while delivering a presentation on behalf of the CARICOM Secretary General (SG), Dr. Carla Barnett, told hundreds gathered at the forum that the European Commissions’ Copernicus Climate Change Service predicted that this year has a high possibility of recording the highest temperatures.
“On the fore-front of our production efforts, is the realities of climate change. According to analysis of temperature data from the European Commissions’ Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2023 has an 85 (percent) chance of being the hottest year on record,” he revealed to a quiet audience.
Deputy Secretary General (SG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Armstrong Alexis (Photo credit: CARICOM)
The Deputy CARICOM SG was keen to note however that this situation presented an opportunity for the private sector to foster innovation and transformation by offering technological solutions to help drive or maintain the necessary levels of production in the sector.
This year commemorates the third annual Regional Agri Forum. It is being hosted at the ACCC between 20th and 22nd October, under the theme ‘Achieving Vision 25 by 2025’.
Presenting an overview of the achievements so far, the Deputy CARICOM SG explained that there have been increased cross border investments, adoption of a new game-changing Regional Agricultural Policy, increased budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector in almost every CARICOM member-state and the establishment of the Youth in Agriculture Advisory Council, among others.
He said there is also increased development by the development partners in support of CARICOM’s visionary initiative which seeks to implement strategies to decrease the Region’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
Alexis nonetheless signaled, “Despite our achievements so far however, there remains the imperative to fully transform our food systems. This, against the reality of the region’s aging farmer population, the effects of climate change, technological advancements, a growing population and the ongoing shift in demand for the type of food that the region consumes; these ladies and gentlemen are factors that we must continue to tackle head on with the full participation of all stakeholders.”
He added, “We also need to consider the peculiarities that have long characterized the market of our region’s agricultural sector. This includes market distortions, where despite low farm-gate prices; the prices to the consumer are high.”
VALUE CHAIN
Meanwhile, the CARICOM Deputy SG called on farmers to make use of the forum to exploit the maximum benefits of their products.
He explained, “From time to time our regional producers must compete in a market place where the international competitors’ price their offerings below the price of production. Our farmers are often unable to match these prices or compete on an international scale because of existing market distorting subsidies.”
To this end, he urged that it was critical for the Region to continue to explore opportunities to move up the value chain and transition from being mere primary producers to food processors.
Alexis said the forum was ripe with such opportunities for farmers and producers.
INCREASE FOOD
The need for increased food production was also underscored by the Deputy CARICOM SG, who highlighted that the world food production needs to increase by 70 percent by 2050, to meet the expanding global population.
This, according to him, provides a “golden opportunity for our region”.
On another note, Alexis called for an intervention to address the cost of a healthy diet and likewise, the cost of unhealthy eating. He urged, “It is imperative that collectively we confront not only the issue of a cost of a healthy diet but very important also the real cost of unhealthy eating. On that score, we propose that an intervention to treat with this issue be fast-tracked.”
- Armstrong Alexi, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Deputy Secretary General (SG), hottest, temperatures
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