The preponderance of imported food in the Caribbean is disturbingly exacerbated by the COVID-19 virus which is further straining already weak economies of the region.

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is estimating that CARICOM’s food importation bill this year will come in at a whopping US$10 billion.

This for an area that covers just 6.5 million people, about a third less than the population of London.

CARICOM’s food importation bill moved from US$2.10 billion in 2000 to US$4.50 billion in 2011.

Food security does not garner much attention in the Caribbean with governments more focused on tourism but in many cases, countries are spending above12 per cent of their total GDP on food importation.

According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Jamaica spends over US$1 billion; the Bahamas, US$1.5 billion; Trinidad & Tobago, US$1 billion , Barbados, US$450 million; Guyana, US$450 million; Haiti, US$1.5 billion and Cuba, US$2.5 billion.

The Caribbean possesses plenty of arable lands and is renowned for many of its crops yet it largely remains unable to adequately feed itself.

Millennials are not enamoured with agriculture and find the prospect of getting their hands dirty and putting in a shift distasteful and this is also a worry for the sector. Who will work the lands in the future?

To put this in perspective, tourists visiting Jamaica only consume 10 per cent of their hosts’ produce, the rest is all imports. Trinidad has seen a significant fall in its rice production. Haiti, Belize and Guyana are the only CARICOM countries able to produce above 50 per cent of its food.

Joseph Cox, the Assistant Secretary-General for Trade and Integration at the CARICOM Secretariat is calling for the region to reduce its food import bill by at least 25 per cent over the next five years. He is proposing that food be made more affordable and accessible and there be more sustainable development of natural resources.

Last month, agricultural ministers from both the Caribbean and Latin America met virtually in Nicaragua for the 36th FAO Regional Conference to consider and make recommendations on this pressing issue.

“This conference is a unique opportunity for all countries to promote a great transformation of their food, agriculture, fishing, livestock and forestry. It is a time to promote innovation and to trace the path that will help us rebuild and transform the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We must improve the way we produce, distribute and consume food so that everyone can have access to healthy diets,” said FAO Regional Representative, Julio Berdegue.

An over-reliance on food imports puts inordinate stress on health sectors across the Caribbean with rising cases of diabetes, obesity and non-communicable diseases. This has not acted as a deterrent.

“A lot of processed foods are imported and tend to be lower in nutrients and higher in calories, fats, sweeteners and sodium. These poor food choices are correlated with the Caribbean having the highest obesity rate in the Americas with non-communicable diseases accounting for 3 out of 4 deaths,” said the FAO.

A way forward…

One solution would be for CARICOM to act as a single bloc and as a supply source. Countries like Guyana, Belize and Haiti have good landmass that could serve the region, thus helping to address this problem.

Having to rely on other countries to feed you particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic is precipitous and puts an additional strain on foreign exchange reserves.

The CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have signed a general agreement for technical cooperation to work together to take a regional approach to agriculture in the Caribbean, recognising more than ever that it is a pillar of economic growth.

“There is a great deal of work to be done with respect to the development of more resilient production methods as well as the introduction of new technologies and crop varieties that are better able to withstand the effects of climate change.

“We do not live in a bubble. We acknowledge the fact that there is a great deal of interdependence in the world, so we are not claiming that we will no longer import food. What we are saying is that every society must carry out its duty with respect to food security and that means not relying entirely on external sources,” said the Director-General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Didacus Jules back in 2018.