Independiente Diálogo
Enfoque geográfico:
Antigua y Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belice, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Haití, Jamaica, Saint Kitts y Nevis, Santa Lucía, San Vicente y las Granadinas, Suriname, Trinidad y Tabago
Main findings
While it is not possible to cover all points raised in the rich discussion, it is important to highlight some of the salient topics that have particular relevance for the Caribbean Region. These include: 1. the importance of market integration and reaching the target of lowering the Region’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025; 2. the recognition that most Members have limited land availability, ample marine resources and the need for greater productivity and income from green and blue economies; 3. the need for a societal shift to healthier diets through incentives, regulations and educa
... Leer mástion; and 4. the urgency of making a strategic pivot in transforming food value chains to become more sustainable, increase value addition and move up the production chain for job creation and higher incomes. All of these are underpinned by: 5. concerns about equity and special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable so that all have access to the resources needed for food security and healthy lives. The input provided under the Regional Dialogue’s Food Security Thematic Area dovetail very well with the first four Food System Summit Action Tracks. In addition to more general comments reflecting the need to accelerate progress towards meeting the targets of SDG 2 and other SDGs, the more regionally focused issues raised during the Dialogue can be grouped under five points of regional consensus mentioned above. Furthermore, the Caribbean is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with recurring tropical storms that cause enormous damage to Member States’ economies. With the increasing threat of even more severe impact due to climate change, CARICOM Members are acutely aware of increasing climate-related threats and are committed to the transformation to a low-carbon development pathway. Speakers at the Regional Dialogue highlighted how farmers and fishers in the Caribbean are struggling to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 global health crisis, the related economic slowdown and unprecedented weather shocks. The Region must confront these risks, which threaten the development of crops, agricultural systems and food and nutrition security. There was a clear consensus that the Region must make its food systems climate resilient to ensure sustained supply of food to all its people. In addition, CARICOM Member States recognize their obligation to safeguard the unique terrestrial and marine environments of the Region. This in turn leads to the urgency of enhancing biodiversity, including the revitalization of traditional crops, linked to the objective of healthy diets discussed above. Finally, Caribbean Member States and regional organizations have long recognized the benefits of a transformed food system, including increased incomes and improved livelihoods, job creation and improvements in human and environmental health. Member States have also long advocated the need for fair and predictable access to financing to address the challenges and implement the necessary changes. Transforming the food system will require significantly greater public financing as well as private capital from national, regional and international partners. Participants recognized that at the national level, the negative spiral of increasing indebtedness related, in many cases, to the periodic economic damage caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters that can reach as high as twice the level of annual GDP. At the individual or enterprise level there continue to be very low levels of financing available at acceptable terms for small producers, disadvantaged groups, youth and women, which reinforces inequities and limits the entry of new investors. CARICOM Members acknowledged that unlocking greater investment in a more sustainable food system will require policy reform and public support to encourage investment in regional food production, including both agriculture and blue food, target healthy foods through incentives and regulation as well as the creation of new financing instruments that foster inclusive models of investment. Leer menos
Línea(s) de Acción: 1, 2, 3, 4
Palabras clave: Data & Evidence, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs, Women & Youth Empowerment