CARICOM nations increase agriculture funding to boost food production

The member nations of the Caribbean Community, also called CARICOM, increased funding to the agriculture sector. The announcement of the initiative taken by the respective government bodies was made by Dr Carla Barnett, the Secretary General of CARICOM, at the 18th Caribbean Week of Agriculture.

The decision was finalised by the CARICOM members in order to take action on the food production and demand of the region. With the increase in investment, the officials are focusing on boosting agriculture so that the Caribbean could be self-sufficient in food while reducing food imports by 2025.

The information on the increase in agriculture funding was passed by the Secretary General during an interactive session at The University of the West Indies Open Campus situated in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The gathering was with young people involved in agriculture sector.

CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett said in her words, “Since the region has been focusing on the 25 by 2025 Initiative, we are, in fact, seeing governments allocating increased amounts in their budgets to support agriculture.”

Barnett added, “The agriculture ministries have received additional funding, whether it is funding for training or for extension services. What it means is that our governments agree that we need to do more to produce food because, in times of emergency, we need to be able to feed ourselves.”

The interactive session was titled on the theme of ‘From Talk to Action- Young People Championing Regional Food Systems.’ The gathering was also joined by the CARICOM Secretariats, including Milagro Matus, the Deputy Programme Manager for Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development, and Ambassador David Prendergast, Director of Sectoral Programmes.

The session covered hybrid discussions that were led by representatives from the youth advisory body. The discussions were focused on the creation of the environment that could complement the youth in agriculture. The intention was to explore the efforst to cultivate the next generation of farmers while adding value to agro-processing.

The Deputy Programme Manager shared his words on promoting the involvement of youth regional agricultural sector and said, “The motivation is straightforward. Your views are important. You represent the future of our region. Your generation is going to step into leadership roles within the Community.”

Milagro Matus also talked about the 17th Caribbean Week of Agriculture took place in The Bahamas in last year. Matus highlighted the words of Dr Carla Barnett shared in 2023 which addressed the youth while asking them to make their voices heard.

In the session of 2023, Secretary General of CARICOM asked youth to take the leadership and to commit to bring transformation in the agriculture sector of the region. The action from the youth in the sector development is expected to advance agriculture.