Regional Talks on Food Security Ahead of Global UN Summit

Food security, climate resilience, and financing will be the primary areas of focus when stakeholders from across the region convene on 28 May 2021 for a Regional Food Systems Dialogue.  

The regional forum is a precursor to the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit slated to be held in September as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Ideas, solutions, and action plans emanating from this dialogue will feed into the Global forum, as well as a pre-Summit event scheduled for July in Rome, to ensure that the voice of the Caribbean is well heard.  

The CARICOM Secretariat is partnering with key regional stakeholders to convene this forerunner event, including United Nations Resident Coordinators, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The aim is to solicit Member States’ views on key aspects of the Region’s food systems challenges along with regional-level proposals that should be highlighted in the international fora.

The forum will feature interventions from Member States, an interactive session with stakeholders including farmers groups, NGOs, the private sector, civil society, and remarks from key officials including UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean , Didier Trebucq and Minister of Agriculture, Guyana and Chair of the Special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security, Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha. CARICOM Ministers of Agriculture will also chair three critical sessions on Climate Change and Caribbean Food Systems, Finance and Funding for the new Caribbean Food System and Food Production and Security a Caribbean Imperative.

The Dialogue seeks to promote knowledge transfer and sharing of best practices critical for Caribbean SIDS. Discussions on food security will address improving productivity, opportunities and constraints in agriculture forestry and fisheries, as well as new technologies and innovation. With respect to climate resilience, focus will be on commitment to transform to a low-carbon development pathway,  climate-smart production processes and digitized data to anticipate threats, manage risks and enhance shock responsiveness. Under the Funding and Financing theme, participants will explore the development of new financing instruments,  financing innovation for financial literacy and job creation in the food system. 

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Media Contacts:

Carol A. Gaskin

UN Resident Coordinator Office

Email: carol-ann.gaskin@un.org

Phone: 1(246) 832- 6110

Michelle Nurse

Communications Officer

CARICOM Secretariat

Email: michelle.nurse@caricom.org

Andree Cardona

Communications Consultant

Inter-American Institute of the Cooperation for Agriculture

Email: andree.cardona@iica.int

About the United Nations Food Security Summit 

The United Nations, through its Secretary-General, António Guterres, will convene a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 as part of “the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030”. 

The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems. It is a people’s summit for everyone everywhere, and a solutions forum that will require everyone to take action to transform the way the world produces, consume, and thinks about food. 

The Summit aims to produce the following results: 

1. Generate significant action and measurable progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by identifying solutions and issuing a call of action at all levels of the food system.
2. Raise awareness and elevate public discussion about how reforming our food systems can help us all to achieve the SDGs by implementing reforms that are good for people and planet.  
3. Develop principles to guide governments and other stakeholders looking to leverage their food systems to support the SDGs.   
4. Create a system of follow-up and review to ensure that the Summit’s outcomes continue to drive new actions and progress.   

Source: CARICOM TODAY