‘We are on the right track’ – Guyana President on 25 by 2025 initiative
The Caribbean Community is on the right track to achieve its goal of reducing its high food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, according to President of Guyana, His Excellency Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
President Ali, who is the lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, is confident of success even as he pointed out that “circumstances around us are changing every single day”.
“We are doing well, and I believe that we have the real possibility of reaching those targets,” he said at a press conference at the end of the 45th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on 5 July.
He pointed to steps Member States are taking, singling out rice production in Trinidad and Tobago; Barbados’ entry into the production of prawns; Saint Lucia’s quest to diversify its agricultural portfolio; and progress on the food terminal in Barbados.
“In every single country, we’ll see more investment, more interest, more dynamism… this is going in the right direction. We’re also looking to use technology, looking at hydroponics, looking at aquaculture, high-yielding crops. So, it is a very, very integrated and holistic plan that seeks to justify the rate of return, that seeks to rebuild interest. We’re also focusing on research and development, the removal of the barriers…l so it’s a very complex plan,” the President pointed out.
He alluded also to challenges including cost and storage capacity for poultry feed production inputs.
“So, we are now pointing these facts out to the private sector so that they could now see the viability of investing in the storage facility, and we have a number of countries that are now partnering in relation to this. So, it’s an issue that’s evolving,” President Ali said.
The Communique issued at the end of the historic meeting, which coincided with the Community’s 50th anniversary, said that the Heads of Government commended President Ali for his leadership towards the achievement of the 25 by 2025 Food and Nutrition Security Initiative.
“They acknowledged the steady progress already made to advance the regional agri-food system, resulting in a decrease in the number of people in the Region who face food insecurity between 2022 and 2023,” the Communique said.
It added that Heads of Government deepened their commitment to remove all non-tariff barriers to intra-regional trade, de-risking the agricultural sector and increased resource mobilisation to help Member States achieve their 25 by 2025 target.
They also welcomed the President’s offer of training for 300 CARICOM nationals in hydroponics and aquaculture, at least half of whom should be women.
Source: CARICOM TODAY