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With regard to the thematic discussion on financing suggestions that emerged from the Regional Food Systems Dialogue include: Committing a targeted allocation of public spending towards agri-investment. Expanding the experience of some Member States in promoting explicit linkages between investments in the more dynamic sectors of the economy, such as tourism, with those in the green and blue economies. Learning from the experiences of Brazil and its Sustainable Agricultural Finance Facility, and others, and adapt the lessons in setting up a similar financial facility in the Region. Implementin... Read moreg mechanisms that provide equitable access to financial resources for investment along the value change for women, youth and under-served populations. Developing and implementing a Caribbean regional diaspora bond targeting investment in the food system. Providing fiscal incentives to promote greater investment in innovation in a more sustainable food system and healthy food. Encouraging greater private sector investment in sustainable food systems through blended finance or other de-risking mechanisms and support emerging technologies for small farmers (e.g. solar power, hydroponics, aquaponics, climate smart greenhouses, rainwater harvesting and storage) or that target small holder farmers/small-scale producer organizations. Promoting financial literacy among the public and educating the financial sector on opportunities within agriculture and food systems, in particular targeting job creation through the food system. Encouraging the development of a Climate Vulnerability Impact Investment Fund, a regional Financing Facility for SMEs and a global Food Loss and Waste Reduction Facility. Read less

Practical suggestions to give force to Members' commitments that that emerged from the Regional Food Systems Dialogue include the following. Place greater emphasis on the expansion of climate smart agricultural practices and increase investment in research and development in these areas. This should include, among other things, greater use of climate data and supporting information as the basis for decision making in agriculture, along with modelling to improve understanding of the impact of climate change on priority crops and livestock. Increase the contribution of the agriculture sector to ... Read moreNationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to climate change commitments and utilize these to garner international funding support for food systems in the Caribbean. Put in place policies and programmes that encourage reduction of food loss and waste, increasing producer incomes and simultaneously decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. This will also target increasing utilization of cold chain technology and clean energy along the food supply chain. Develop financial instruments such as weather-related insurance schemes, like the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), along with additional, layered approaches to disaster risk financing at the national level. Further invest in comprehensive disaster risk management systems at the regional (CDEMA). Build on the extensive work done previously in Disaster Risk Management (DRM), including the development of the Regional Emergency Response Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture, to strengthen the region’s efforts in agriculture DRM. Build on recent years’ success in scaling up social protection mechanisms in response to climatic and economic shocks and further strengthen the shock-responsiveness and adaptability of social protection programmes. Read less

1. The key points under the objective of market integration and reaching the target of lowering the Region’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 are as follows. There is a need to strengthen the food import substitution strategy, address transport and logistics issues across Caribbean states, remove non-tariff barriers for intra-regional trade and update trade legislation and regulations. Likewise, there is a need for increased systematic understanding and monitoring of national, regional and international market demand and increasing access to this information, including the implementati... Read moreon of an E-trade strategy for agriculture. 2. Under the heading of limited land availability, ample marine resources and the need for greater productivity and income from both, the following points were agreed. Greater investment is needed in technology development and innovation in fisheries, forestry and agriculture. This will include innovations in land and water management and the nexus with energy, the use of technology and emerging techniques to tackle issues of access to water (e.g., rainwater harvesting, aquaponics, hydroponics, climate smart greenhouses) and especially for small holder producers. Soil management improvement was highlighted by several speakers as was the opportunity to slash food loss and waste with multiple benefits for food security, the environment and incomes. Capacity development for using these technologies is necessary, including through appropriate communication and training channels, on approaches such as Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), Good Food Practices (GFP) and Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). 3. Under the heading of the need to shift to healthier diets through incentives, regulations and education, the Prime Minister of Barbados stated that not all food is safe food and too much of the food that the population consumes cannot be considered as healthy eating. It is imperative that the Region set clear standards and policies that discourage importation of cheaper and less-healthy food options and promote the national and regional production and consumption of foods that go into a healthy diet. The Region will address obesity and constraints to reliable access to healthy diets by promoting home grown school feeding programmes to promote improved child nutrition. This is an example of needed incentives to buy locally and intra-regionally and to improve access to healthier foods grown locally, along with new educational and informational campaigns that promote healthy food consumption behaviours and practices. The actions will need to be matched with fiscal disincentives or other policies designed to reduce the production, importation and consumption of unhealthy foods. 4. With regard to the strategic pivot toward more sustainable blue and green food systems while increasing value addition, moving up the production chain for job creation and higher incomes, a number of policy and programmatic actions have been priortised by the Region through the new Agri-Food Strategy. These include fostering cooperation and collaboration involving all actors across the value chain and partnership with external support agencies, along with much greater investment in R&D and technology innovation, and strengthening institutional and regulatory frameworks that support innovation. It also requires efforts to promoting farming as a viable livelihood and income stream through the use of emerging techniques, identifying new markets and linked all this to a value chain approach. This will focus attention on new and emerging industries, including “blue foods”, strengthen linkages across value chain stakeholders and encourage new entrants to invest in the sector. Read less

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... Read moretion; 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. Read less

The themes of the FSS are very familiar to CARICOM Member States and the Region has recognized the need to transform its food systems and findi innovative ways to achieve the SDGs through this transformation. As far back as the 2001, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) called attention to the integrated nature of food system challenges and the need for the fundamental transformation of the agricultural sector towards market oriented, internationally competitive and environmentally sound production of agricultural products. Similarly, the 2010 Common Agriculturre Policy was explicit in reco... Read moregnizing that food and nutrition security is a multi-dimensional and multi-sector issue. It called for simultaneous, holistic and concerted action on a wide front, encompassing, production (agriculture, fisheries and forestry), food processing and distribution, health and nutrition, trade, infrastructure, social welfare, education and information and communication sectors. Considerable advancement has taken place since then, in particular on building resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses in light of the impact of climate change. Ahead of the Dialogue, CARICOM Member States were working to finalize the “Strategy for Advancing the CARICOM Agri-Food Systems Agenda”. The Strategy recognizes that “the Region continues to face a myriad of challenges in developing a competitive agri-food system that can contribute to the achievement of its food security and economic goals. Challenges include high trade costs, vulnerability to climate change, environmental and external economic shocks, weak infrastructure, lack of modern and creative financing mechanisms, outdated extension services, limited application of technology and uptake of research and development. Consequently, the Regional Dialogue was organized around three thematic areas of particular importance to the food systems of the Caribbean: food security, climate resilience, and funding and financing. Each theme was introduced by a speaker who highlighted those elements that distinguish the Caribbean from other regions and offered propositions for change that are particularly important for the Region. Following this introduction, participants provided feedback on concrete experience that should be replicated or adapted and other proposals. A list of commentators was agreed ahead of time (in addition to anyone else who wished to comment) to ensure that all stakeholder groups would have the chance to speak. Following the design of Summit around the five Action Tracks, the Regional Dialogue discussed topics related to Action Tracks 1-4 (Ensure Access to Safe and Nutritious Food For All, Shift to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns, Boost Nature-Positive Food Production at Scale, and Advance Equitable Livelihoods and Value Distribution) under the Food Security Theme. Action Track 5 (Build Resilience to Vulnerabilities, Shocks and Stresses) was discussed under the Climate Resilience thematic area, and cross-cutting issues relating to funding and financing issues under that Regional Dialogue thematic area. Read less

Despite the presence of diverse stakeholders, there were no major areas of divergence during the Dialogue. There was a broad consensus on the main issues. All participants agreed on the main findings of the Dialogue, especially on the necessity that the food and agricultural sector needs to be neutralized from the impact of economic sanctions, with all needed inputs to be secured so as not to have to face mounting food insecurity. There was also consensus on the ideal vision of a sustainable, equitable food system where all people can have access to nutritious and safely produced food that are... Read more the goals of the UN meeting on Food Systems security. Read less

Topic: The negative impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCM) on food security. - Consequences of UCM on the food security in Syria: 1- The collapse of purchasing power among Syrian Households. 2- High inflation and a collapse of the Syrian currency. 3- A serious lack of fuel needed for factories and for households. 4- Restrictions to imports of essential materials including fodder and agriculture materials. In addition, the unilateral coercive measures targeting the financial sector such as banks have a severely damaging effect on all sectors of the economy including on those so-called exe... Read morempted items such as medicine and food other than causing price inflation. According to the WFP, food insecurity exists when people do not have adequate physical, social, or economic access to food. Syria has been in a protracted conflict for more than a decade. At the same time, Syria has been targeted by unilateral coercive measures, from western countries notably the US, the UK, and the EU, which have worsened people's lives in Syria and in the surrounding countries. All these factors have created obstacles for Syrians to earn their livelihood. As Syrian citizens, we would like to advocate the following key issues for consideration a. The humanitarian impact of any unilateral sanctions must be regularly reviewed and assessed through conducting a comprehensive investigation on the negative impact of these measures on human rights, on the UN’s sustainable development goals, and on food security in particular. b. Despite warnings from the WFP, OCHA, and FAO about the humanitarian situation in Syria, little research has been undertaken on the dangerous consequences of economic sanctions. There has not been any serious attempt made either by the EU or the USA to review or lift the unilateral coercive measures. We argue that this cannot be ignored anymore; millions are on the brink of famine. C. Widespread food insecurity cannot be dealt with through humanitarian aid alone. Syrian people need sustainable solutions. For example, restrictions on imports should be lifted together with some direct economic support for modest projects that will allow Syrians to provide food for themselves. D. Countries imposing sanctions need to compensate the Syrian people for losses caused by their political actions as, in the food and agricultural sectors. The food and agricultural sector needs to be neutralized from the impact of economic sanctions, with all needed inputs to be secured so as not to have to face mounting food insecurity. E. Unilateral measures may be taken by States or regional organizations ONLY in compliance with international legal standards: that is, they are taken with the authorization of the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. This can only take place in response to a breach of peace, a threat to peace, or an act of aggression. Otherwise, any measures taken against Syria need to be in full compliance with the rules of international law in compliance with international responsibilities. Otherwise, we damage the value of international law and collective security. Read less

There was concern about the neglect at the international level of universal coercive measures on food security in Syria as well as food security in general in conflict zones. In the MENA region alone more than 200 million people are affected by the effects of coercive sanctions and also by conflict.

The focus of the dialogue was to illustrate the negative impact of economic sanctions on the right to food, especially since Syrians are still suffering from the effects of conflict and a war-torn economy. Moreover, the Dialogue discussed ways that could be beneficial to provide sustainable solutions to food security. The Dialogue highlighted the difficulties, which the Livestock keepers are facing to buy standard quantities of cattle feed, which affects their productivity. Sheep and goat keepers face limited access to grazing land and high feed prices. In the poultry sector, producers of broi... Read morelers and eggs are experiencing challenges in securing inputs, consequently creating massive fluctuations in the prices of broilers and eggs. Furthermore, food processors are facing higher costs of raw materials, transportation, fuel, and shortages of labor. The very poor purchasing power of Syrian households was one of the key points raised in the Dialogue. Despite the availability of food items in the markets, they remained unaffordable for Syrian families whose purchasing power has collapsed as a direct consequence of economic sanctions. The Dialogue achieved the following outcomes: - Formation of a Network of concerned citizens (both Syrians and some from outside) against unilateral coercive measures، which will meet regularly. - To continue to highlight the negative impact of coercive measures on the food security and the right to food of Syrians. - To make suggestions to the UN food Systems Security Organization of key issues arising from discussions in the video and in our Dialogue available here. Read less

Overall children were in agreement about the strengths and vulnerabilities of food systems, how to improve food sustainability, the issues that needed addressing, and the stakeholders that should be focused on. There were certainly different focal points. For example, some children focused on financial and educational support for farmers, while others focused on government legislation around food safety and food systems. But ultimately we see these as overlapping and supplementary, rather than divergent. To make food systems more sustainable and nutritious, a holistic approach will be needed i... Read morenvolving a broad range of different actors and interventions. Read less

4. Support: the UN should support sustainable food production, strengthening infrastructure, enhancing distribution, and implementing programs that make food more affordable and accessible, especially for those most impacted by food poverty and climate change (e.g. indigenous communities) “support access to nutritious foods for low-income and vulnerable population”, “defend the rights of indigenous people”, “strengthen the supply chain of foods”

3. Regulation: the UN should regulate food production, establishing laws to tackle global warming, keeping food producers accountable, auditing programs to ensure compliance, addressing plastic and deforestation, and controlling chemicals/pesticides “UN intervention to countries must be more aggressive. For example, an international Environmental Impact Analysis seems to need to be agreed. Auditing food producers must be conducted from upstream to downstream.”

2. Inclusion: the UN should listen to young people, create offline (e.g. forums) and online (e.g. platforms) spaces for them to share their views, collaborate with them, and involve them as government intermediaries “I hope UN continues to invite youths from various countries to participate in every activity because youths are the future leaders of nations. Let youths learn how to protect the world”

At the end of the workshop, the children engaged in a whole-group plenary discussion, where we asked them the key messages they wanted to convey to the UN. Overall, children felt the UN was responsible for ensuring food security, environmental preservation and ensuring equality. This was tied to understanding people’s difficulties, with special consideration for places and groups that experience greater insecurity and marginalization. The UN was also seen as an entity responsible for collaborating globally to bring about social change. Four key themes emerged from our workshops: 1. Education... Read more: the UN should teach people about climate change, environmental protection, recycling, food systems; it should raise awareness of food inequality and show people the benefits of nutritious and sustainable practices, like eating seasonally “further promote socialization about climate change, the food systems, and the 2030 SDGs, so that the world community is more aware of the condition of the earth” Read less

Experiences of Food Children pointed out that food is fundamental for obtaining energy and sustaining life. Food is a primary need for survival, a basic requirement for growth and health. However many children also linked food with joyfulness and happiness. Food was delicious and to be enjoyed, sometimes with family. These responses suggest that food for children is a mix of the material and the aspirational. Children focused on taste, health, and affordability when talking about foods they liked and conversely aspects like bitterness, smell, and unhealthiness when talking about foods they dis... Read moreliked. When asked about foods they would like to eat but couldn’t, children often focused on price; these desirable foods were simply too expensive. Availability was also an issue, with foods not available in local markets, and health effects (too much fat/sugar) also a factor. Some children could choose the food they ate, but some could not, whether due to seasonal availability, price, or parents overseeing cooking. ‘Always have to depend on farmers from some far away place.’ Challenges to Food Systems One core activity in the consultations was food mapping. Children mapped a food system around them, visualizing how food moved from the farm to the plate. Overall children demonstrated a deep understanding of food production, especially when it was a local staple food or meal. Children then reflected on what the vulnerabilities or weak points in these systems were. The main vulnerability voiced by the children was poor availability of food. Poor availability was due to minimal stock in the markets, distance from the farming areas, and problems with food distribution. Access to food is also significantly affected by poverty and disruption to food production by season/natural disaster. Another predominant concern was the poor quality of food due to water pollution, use of artificial fertilisers, and unhygienic market conditions. These concerns highlight once again how interconnected food systems are, with economic (e.g. high food prices) and environmental (e.g. flooding, low crop yields) frequently overlapping. ‘Natural disasters create food vulnerability.’ Strengthening Food Systems Children completed activities designed to provide concrete suggestions for change at different levels of society, from family to community, industry, and government. They also wrote a “postcard to the President,” outlining key changes that need to happen and how children could input into these shifts. Many children saw potential in empowering communities to grow their own produce and learn more about sustainability. Farms and farming also emerged as a frequent theme, with children suggesting it should be promoted as a vocation and supported with financial incentives and training. Proximity of both food production and food consumption, as mentioned above, was a key concern. In response, children stressed that farms and markets should be local and accessible, moving from ‘far away to being close’. Many of the childrens’ suggestions strongly link food security with food autonomy: import less, regulate more, and invest seriously in local farms and infrastructure, producing enough cheap, nutritious food for all. ‘Food supply should be available to every citizen and food should be with no added chemicals.’ Read less