Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

How to boost the role of SMEs in providing “Good Food for All”? The discussions on this topic in all groups were thoughtful and comprehensive. Interestingly, for all of the groups the focus on the quality of food for consumers and "Make good food matter" was the gravitation of the conversations. Some of the following needs were highlighted: - Pay attention to children's diet and nutrition - Networks require control, and research that needs to be invested in - Large enterprises have budgets, and small ones have no resources to innovate - Be attentive to what gets into marketing - Educate co... Read morensumers on "good food" - Educate youth and children Additional topics of discussion included: - Provide SMEs with digital technologies, innovations, to reduce the gap between large businesses and SMEs - Democratise the digital food revolution - Bilateral interaction between the regulator and SMEs - Education for business, farmers on sustainable development, soil regeneration, biodiversity etc. - Reward responsible conduct - Youth involvement Read less

How are you and your business contributing to the food system now? What challenges limit your positive impacts? The SME's participating in the dialogues as well as other representatives of the food industry have shared some of the key barriers they experience from their point in the system. It was a rich discussion in all breakout groups. Overall the actions of SMEs are fragmented, not coordinated. Each of the SMEs have shared their dedication to produce and deliver “Good Food for All”, either via use of new technologies including innovations in business models (e.g. direct sales), bio agr... Read moreiculture etc. It was interesting to notice however, that SMEs would embrace these innovations not as a result of incentives by regulators and governments, rather as a response to unfavourable market conditions and inability to compete with big business. Some key barriers identified included: - outdated legislation - the regulator is lagging behind - unfavourable market conditions - competition with big companies - insufficient education of farmers on "good food" and overall resistance to change - inappropriate distribution of products in households and food processing businesses and food waste - insufficient digitalization of the industry - the importance of maintaining local crop biodiversity conservation through the cooperation of local seed growers, farmers and seed exchange - lack of sustainability context - need to restructure value chains - lack of expertise in new technologies, lack of high-quality personnel - negative outcomes of digitalization - social aspects of the digitalisation and future of work - lack of education for consumers on "good food" Read less

These SME stories tell of their collective commitment to drive positive change in multiple ways: Pathway 1: Create a business ecosystem in which food SMEs thrive Opportunities to act: ● Leverage the power of SMEs by creating/ supporting dynamic networks, foundations, cooperatives, associations, ● Conduct frequent systemic dialogues between multiple stakeholders (public sector, business, SME's and farmers, consumers) to explore specific aspects of food systems in greater depth ● Promote education (public workers, business, academia, consumers) on sustainability, new technologies, policies... Read more, circular business models, nutrition, soil regeneration etc. Pathway 2: Incentivise businesses to provide “Good Food for All” Opportunities to act: ● Ensure prices reflect the true cost of food ● Shift to sustainable consumption patterns. Educate consumers and food retail on topics related to “good food”, nutrition, sustainability, new technologies, innovative policies, circularity, zero waste, soil regeneration etc. ● Fast-track innovative entrepreneurs and support youth ● Improve access to digitalisation of the industry and integration of new technologies Pathway 3: Incentivise public bodies/ regulator (incl. municipalities, local and regional government, national and international) to provide “Good Food for All” Opportunities to act: ● Promote education (public workers, business, academia, consumers) on sustainability, new technologies, policies, circular business models, nutrition, soil regeneration etc. ● Ensure prices reflect the true cost of food and create policies supporting sustainable food production ● Policy should evolve faster to address fast changing technological and methodological innovation in the sector ● Integrating participatory governance and multi-stakeholder processes ● Foreign economic relations Read less

Our food systems must become more nourishing, sustainable, equitable, and resilient. This is the imperative set by the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute at least half the food system, so are fundamental in efforts to transform the ways we produce and consume our food. The Summit has undertaken a global consultation exercise to ask thousands of food SMEs and their expert supporters, “How to boost the role of SMEs in providing good food for all?” Food SMEs are quiet revolutionaries, working tirelessly to transform food systems in e... Read morevery corner of the planet. Listening to the SMEs in each discrete context will highlight priority actions to boost their contribution as change agents. This dialogue has created space for SMEs in Eastern Europe and Post- soviet Asia to get together and discuss some of the key challenges they face in the current food system as well as discuss what would a more desirable future look like and what are the ways to achieve it. Read less

N?A

Climate Resilient and Sustainable Livestock Production and Consumption (Challenges, risk and opportunities) Livestock produces a high level of GHG and also contributes to some biodiversity loss Indigenous practices can relieve the burden of live stock on the environment greater use of circular economy principles and integrative farming techniques can help manage emissions and waste throughout production and delivery to the market Challenges includes issues in water availability and impacts, irrigation, storage. Other challenges include cold storage of fresh produce, feed supply, managing waste... Read more and emissions, environmental impacts, outmoded farm management approaches that affect quality, safety, yields, animal cruelty and environmental impacts. The production of animals is a function of the quality, quantity and seasonal distribution of forage, the amount of forages consumed by animals and the efficiency of forage consumed. The quality, quantity and seasonal distribution along with the amount consumed would rely greatly on the management of the forages available, while the effective conversion of the forage consumed would highly rest on the physiological state of the animal. The efficient utilization of available forage can be achieved by preparing a forage plan for the entire year. The global poultry industry holds a very successful and complex supply chain system that all other livestock production sectors hope to achieve. In the domestic world, poultry covers many species of egg and meat type chickens, ducks, turkeys, quails, geese, guinea fowls, peafowls and a wide range of semi domestic species. The poultry industry is broken up into three main areas; breeding and reproduction, growth and production and processing, packaging and marketing. Poultry is the largest agro-industrial enterprise surpassing both sugar and rice in the Caribbean. Annual gross industry sale is estimated at over US $500 million. The industry employs over 75,000 persons directly and is the largest generator of small business and rural entrepreneurship. Approximately 82% of all animal protein eaten in the Caribbean is from poultry. Significant investment opportunities exist in feed manufacturing and hatching egg production, value added products and increased intra-regional trade. The poultry industry strategically focuses on using the vertical integration approach to managing its supply chain. This system relies heavily on the supplier systems to feed directly into each subsector which lends to a higher production output, increased product quality and maximizing of profits. The vertical integration system for the broiler industry includes segments for: 1) primary breeding and genetic selection, 2) feed processing and distribution, 3) sub breeder farms, 4) hatchery operations, 5) grow out farms, 6) processing plants, 7) further processing and 8) transportation and marketing. There is a need to promote and have wider adoption of Global GAP (Good Agriculture Standards) and practices. there is need to improve farmer education and production at level of the farm by providing coaching, mentorship and technical support at the level of farm and community Partnerships that allow for students to work directly with farmers in a mutually respectful and interactive learning manner can help improve technology transfer and adoption on level of farms. It was felt that partnerships between farmers, academia, schools and civil society is an imperative to effectively navigate the many challenges Education is not only required for farmers in modern approaches but for consumers to enable them to demand higher standards and cruelty free food Read less

Creating sustainable partnerships between farmers, food processors and consolidators/distributors Contract farming and production can be a useful tool in improving partnerships The issue of traceability is of critical importance and with solid partnerships across the value chain can enable improved tracking of traceability through the value chain leveraging technology across the value chain can reduce cost to all players and enhance competitiveness across the value chain Farmers, processors and distributors need to build strong networks that help leverage, capital, and resources and improve fl... Read moreows of materials and resources throughout the value chain. formalizing these networks can have significant benefit Structuring solutions be it technological, managerial and otherwise to capitalize on opportunities and manage interactions across the value chain can have significant process and impact benefits Sustainable procurement practices can help communicate requirements and encourage the use of good agriculture practices, decarbonize transport and processing and bring other system wide benefits across the value chain for all parties and the environment Read less

Reducing livestock impacts on environment Greater use of indigenous practices Expanded use of circular economy principles regarding livestock was. Using bio digester convert waste to energy and biofuels Livestock protocol should follow the same processes and protocols that govern the crop production model. Government backing, development, and support of insurance specific for the agricultural sector, to include specialized sub-sectors and operations of varying levels. • Jamaica has recently launched such a program. NOTE: One example of an insurance product being introduced in the Caribbean�... Read more�s is termed Parametric Disaster Insurance, an event-based rather than a loss-based payout system.  Dialogue among nation states in the region is essential. This is a mechanism, for among other things, identification of regional markets and non-traditional collaboration and cooperation.  A leader in the Caribbean research & development and ag education is the Bahama’s Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) is a rich source of real-time, authoritative entity providing ag-specific data and resources regionally and globally. Activities currently underway at BAMSI include: • An EU-funded incubator for small ruminants (i.e., goat, sheep, deer) • Research on feeding and farming methods • Development of regional best practices NOTE: The Cuba Model is the framework being utilized.  The Integrated Production Model is of value within this context.  The example of Tanzania’s planting of plantain and coffee together, was offered.  Incorporation of chicken into an environment such as this (Nathan is planning to expand his company’s farming interests to include chicken farming) was suggested, as appropriate in this context. The droppings (as well as those from ducks and pigs would serve as organic fertilizer.  Minimally, barriers to and concerns with the use of organic fertilizer were identified as: 1. Cost (within the large farm or commercial context). For example, one acre of farmland would require 2-4,000 pounds of manure annually. 2. The runoff and by-product effect – specifically, phosphorous-driven “green” water. The green water produced can be mitigated by planting “run-off” or “cover crops”. NOTE: Currently, Nathan’s company has a team of scientists working on developing an organic fertilizer formulation. It’ll be 6-12 months before a usable sample/formulation is available for testing. The goal is making the fertilizer available commercially, as well as for their personal use on their 600-acre farm.  Suggestions for minimizing the impact of husbandry or animal farming on the environment included: Regional Collaboration & Cooperation. • Specific reasons for this suggestion included provision of technical assistance by experts, knowledge-sharing and guidance (i.e., best practices, innovation, and technology (not necessarily smart farming options). • Develop, fund, and maintain a highly-integrated system. Improving access to information and resources to include greater connectivity was another suggestion. • Specific interventions such as government expanding and improving broadband access, allocating radio bandwidth dedicated to broadcasting information to outlying, tech-poor/tech unsavvy farmers. This includes dedicated government-sponsored audio/radio spots. China and Africa are contemporary examples of countries hosting forums/spots/access points for outlying persons. Incentivization. • Offer/fund efforts to identify other scientific means of minimization and/or mitigation in this discipline. Strengthening of existing regional extension services. • The current “bottlenecking” and inadequacy of service provided were identified as specific examples of how poor extension services act as barriers in this context. Other solutions. • Rotational grazing • Ambient water testing regimes should be adopted and deployed regionally Rigorous soil testing should also be implemented and small medium and large scale livestock farms Read less

Encouraging and sustaining good agriculture practices in livestock farming. How can we better encourage the use and application of good agriculture standards and practices? How can we improve the provision of extension services, technical support and advisory service available to livestock farmers? What financial structures, support and regimes are needed to support and help farmers to scale climate smart resilient and nature positive livestock production, regionally, internationally? What partnerships and collaborations need to be developed to help scale, sustain and develop more climate smar... Read moret resident and nature positive forms of livestock production? In order to encourage the use of GAP and standards there is the need to establish what are GAP and the standards to which will be adhere to. This may vary in some countries based on conditions there. Some of these GAP pertain to quality feed/water and also a health and safety of the animals through a controlled environment. Farmers can also be encouraged by making land available for livestock farrming and grazing and also giving incentives to use safe chemicals and develop proper and safe facilities for rearing and slaughtering. Need to ensure that the animals have quality feed like in other countries. There is a concern that the animals are not being feed good forage and hay. The need to look at how Caribbean nations could barter from each other in order to support needs. There is a challenge with feed and grain and instead of looking to gmo corn from outside we need to grow our own local products to make animal feed eg sweet potatoes, casavva which is more nutritious and better for animal consumption. Some persons have the challenge of no land to graze animals therefore it was suggested that countries with large land mass eg Guyana could grow lots of hay for other countries so that in times of shortage/disaster good hay can be accessed and it can be used as a feed bank (proper storage methods adopted). Traceability of feedstuffs. Also with respect to the health of the animals more natural medicines can be used eg neem as a wormer in Antigua where research has been done on this. The volcano in St Vincent is affecting livestock feeding, hence there is a need for proper post harvest storage of hay etc in times like these so farmers can access. Protective environment in order to keep them safe from larceny as this is an issue for most farmers and other external factors like extreme weather conditions as experienced in the Caribbean. The need for leaders to be proactive in order to deal with climate change and its impacts Micro chipping of animals with respect to safety and being able to track if stolen Proper slaughter house facilities Market price that is consistent with quality produce Have an appropriate waste management system and using the manure back into the soil – this contributes to zero waste and circular economy Need to ensure dairy farming practices do not have an adverse impact on the local environment The need for research and development in each island in order to have statistics and info to know what we are producing, what the animals are eating in order to support GAP Collaboration between organisations regionally eg CARDI, the university FAO Read less

Neo tropical Animal Conservation, Production and Utilisation there are many opportunities to sustainably rear neo tropical animals as a sustainable livestock in a climate smart and resilient manner The major domestic livestock species being utilized are goats (meat and dairy), sheep, cattle (beef and dairy), pigs, rabbits, ducks and layers (table eggs). The issues encountered by subsistence and small scale livestock farmers are: 1) Lack of tropical and well adapted livestock species and genetics for breeding programs, 2) Cost of feed for monogastric animal production, 3) Lack of resources by t... Read morehe public sector to properly advise and train farmers, as well as to supply timely support services (Artificial Insemination), 4) Untimely distribution of land leases 5) Poor management and planning for fodder production for the dry season for ruminant production, 6) Praedial larceny, 7) Lack of a well-coordinated marketing agency for livestock and livestock products, 8) Inaccurate data collection methods by data collecting organisations, hence a misrepresentation of the true potential of local agriculture, 9) Lack of Policies for Wildlife farming (e.g. Intensive Agouti Production) and 10) The major “Disconnect” between the educating bodies, the public sector and the private sector. Small holder farms are facing very tough times as these issues have been plaguing the livestock industry for generations. Amendments should include 1) attaining adaptable livestock species for production, focusing on producing feed locally and utilizing non- conventional feed resources, considering public sector services year round since agriculture doesn’t have a start and finish period, implementation of commercial indigenous wildlife production and more active and meaningful round the table discussions between all food production stakeholders. Read less

There are several neo tropical non conventional livestock that provide a climate smart and resilient pathway for the livestock industry regionally applying circular economy principles, , indigenous techniques and integrative farming approaches are imperatives for making livestock production climate smart and resilient partnerships that allow for scientific testing, training and development, data collection and analysis, knowledge transfer, capacity building , mentorship and coaching is critical to the sustainability and resilience of the region's livestock sector GPS tracking, IOT sensors and ... Read moreother technology can help improve quality, safety, security and help better manage the key challenges and risk associated with the sector. Such as predial larceny, monitoring emissions and monitoring livestock impacts on soil health and biodiversity with intent for high impact mitigation and adaptation strategic intervention Improving the quality and availability of data and analytics in the livestock space regionally can have significant benefit in improving adaptation and mitigation impacts Applying international standards and indigenous practices can also have significant impacts with a lot of co benefits in issues of water availability and quality, sustainable and decarbonized energy, reducing emissions, and enhancing climate resilience while enabling sustainable livelihoods Read less

This dialogue examined how the Caribbean region can enable sustainable livestock production and improved agribusiness management. With livestock production having significant impacts on climate change, finding ways to take to scale more sustainable climate smart and resilient practices in livestock production is a critical imperative. After a short framing discussion by curators, participants would be broken into five facilitated discussion groups , namely a) Neo tropical Animal Conservation, Production and Utilisation b. Encouraging and sustaining good agriculture practices in livestock farmi... Read moreng c) Reducing livestock impacts on environment d. Creating sustainable partnerships between farmers, food processors and consolidators/distributors e. Climate Resilient and Sustainable Livestock Production and Consumption (Challenges, risk and opportunities) After the group discussions, facilitators would present summaries in a plenary, Read less

Blockchain technologies consume great deals of power and is not totally sustainable. Some participants felts there are other ways with lower carbon footprint to realize the same benefits of block chains.

Capacity building and skill development. Making Opportunities accessible to rural farmer women and youth There is need to include digital literacy in all education programmes for farmers Priority attention needs to be given to women, youth, ex prisoners, justice involved youth There is need to leverage technology to help make agriculture sexy ie appealing as a career option and viable coaching, mentorship and support are critical to the success of all initiatives to accelerate and scale the use of technology in agriculture ongoing Proving effective support beyond deployment of technology is cr... Read moreitical to learning and improvement of food systems Education needs to cover food safety, traceability, and the necessary components to assure literacy and proper use of technologies to improve practices at level of farm and communities Deployment in clusters (groups and network) is seen as one of the best ways to reduce cost of IOT and other technology deployment eg renewables servicing a community, commercial composting at community scale, bio digesters , drones to plant and monitor crops, water sensing technology monitoring water content and biodiversity of soil, Capacity building and skill development. Making Opportunities accessible to rural farmer women and youth, GPS tags tracking livestock location and health and so on There is need to revise currcula Read less

Improving Rural Connectivity Community Networks are seen as a critical strategy for improving rural connectivity Connectivity and internet access needs to be seen as a right and providers need to be encouraged to connect rural communities as a matter of principle. It is critical to improving food systems, education and the overall quality of life that issues in rural connectivity needs to be addressed It has been a real challenge for rural communities regionally to remain connected and conduct e commerce and other business with limited and constantly failing internet regionally Internet connec... Read moretivity, broadband and fiber should be a priority of government, private sector and local government regionally Partnerships can be an excellent vehicle for deploying greater access, community networks and free access finding ways to demonetize the internet through models of IAAS and SAAS should be evaluated and deployed A regional and national working groups should be created to examine and address the issues of rural connectivity. Technical members of ISACA, ISOC, ITU and ISO Technical committees could be drawn upon to support this initiative Flexible funding regimes should be developed and deployed to allow partner agencies to connect rural and vulnerable commutes as a critical requirement in enabling a just and equitable transition Free broadband nd and internet access should be provided to all rural schools, community centers, parks and other shared spaces as a means of increasing access and affordability. With all services and commerce being transitioned online connectivity can no longer be seen as a luxury but as the means by which people connect with services. To leave communities without access is to reduce the market and handicap the economic and social potential of countries and region as a whole Read less

Improving agriculture value chains by leveraging available and future technology. Possibilities for accelerating Caribbean progress there is a lot of room for IOT, sensors, GPS,, Drone, Analytic technologies, WIFI Cameras and other technology in the Caribbean Space Aquaponics, Vertical Hydroponic Farming (Indoor and Outdoor), bio digesters and others technologies have tremendous potential for improving Value chains Block Chain Technology can be a great tool for accelerating action throughout the food system value chain Smart factory, Industry 4.0 Traceability throughout the value chain is of c... Read moreritical importance. Providing support for farmers, processors and distributors could have significant benefits and impact in improving Caribbean competitiveness and resilience of its food system Partnerships across the value chain can make it easier to adopt technology and manage the transition process Read less

Financing the acceleration of Technology Adoption on Agriculture Scale should be leveraged to help reduced cost of technology that can benefit clusters and the entire sector Grant and donor programmes need to create flexible pathways to accessing financing Climate financing should also cater to the leveraging of sustainable technology or the alignment of traditional technologies to enhance climate smart and resilient approaches to technology There is need to help enhance the capabilities to apply for and mange grant and loan financing utilize to leverage technology Financing criteria should be... Read more aligned to and give support to producers and processors leveraging technology towards making their operations climate smart and resilient Insurance should provide reductions based on proper leveraging of climate adaptation and mitigation approaches and so on Read less

Navigating the agriculture and Technology Divide There is a critical need to address connectivity within rural communities, rural producers and processors Deployed more regional community networks Equity should underline the strategy and there needs to be greater access, improved energy, water and waste management efficiency There is need to place an emphasis on education/digital literacy/technology literacy and the ways can position technology to make better use of natural resources, conserve water and improve yields Partnerships across e government, civil society, private sector, and academi... Read morea are critical in navigating issues across the digital divide. Institutions like UTT, UWI, UWI Open Campus, ASTI and all the National Training Agencies need to work together in address green and technology skill gaps among food system providers Read less

Technology is an enabler but it is not the solution to the many challenges in agriculture and food systems As an enabler technology can enhance ability to collect, assess, disseminate, utilize information and data Aligning technology to support climate mitigation, adaptation and building community based social cohesion, equity and resilience is seen as the best use and means for acceleration technology use in food systems around the Caribbean Scaling Climate Finance and Improving access in areas that support greater energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste efficiency, processing effectivenes... Read mores and connectivity of rural and urban communities provide many opportunities to accelerate and scale actions on SDGs, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction there is need to develop competencies, capabilities and capacity of farmers, processors and others in the food system to properly leverage technology. It was felt that shared platforms, leveraging social capital and clusters provides great avenues to reduce cost and realize benefits of wider deployment of technology It was felt that partnerships between agriculture organizations, trade facilitation and the Internet societies can go a long way in more expeditious deployment of community networks and addressing the digital divide in rural communities Coaching, mentorship, consultancy and capacity building can be critical enabling tools to support more efficient and effective uptake of technology in the food systems Leveraging technology to address issues of crime, security and monitoring the health of plants There is need to take a comprehensive view of risk. Risk from climate perspective, risk from community profile, risk by community, risk from specific and cascading risk there is need to leverage technology to improve data availability eg climate analytics, deploy share platforms and to safely and securely manage data in cyber space ie addressing cyber security issues and issues of accessibility, monitoring and tracking food waste There is need to leverage technology to support branding, marketing, advertising and promotion of food and agriculture as a viable career and business option for youth, women and vulnerable groups There is need for regional and at standards to support accelerating use of technology in agriculture Sustainable procurement can help shape the types of technology that is leveraged and brought to bear on agriculture There is also potential for drone technology and GPS technology in realizing climate smart and resilient agriculture practices A regional working group could be convened to help shape a regional strategy on the uptake of technology and champion the deployment of Community Networks regionally``` Utilize innovation Lan strategy to better connect innovators and food system participants Read less

This dialogue examined how players in the food system ecosystem can accelerate the adoption of the Internet of Things and Technology that support enhancing the sustainability, resilience and innovation of the food system ecosystem in the Caribbean. Participants also examined issues contributing to the digital divide and strategies that can be executed now to begin creating a more sustainable and resilient food system by 2930. After a short framing session the participants will be broken into five facilitated discussion groups, namely a. Navigating the agriculture and Technology Divide b. Finan... Read morecing the acceleration of Technology Adoption on Agriculture c Improving agriculture value chains by leveraging available and future technology. Possibilities for accelerating Caribbean progress d. Improving Rural Connectivity e. Capacity building and skill development. Making Opportunities accessible to rural farmer women and youth After the discussion groups, facilitators shall present summaries of the discussions in a plenary discussion. Read less