Food Security- A vehicle to Eliminate Hunger in Guyana and the Caribbean By :Hon. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy Minister of Agriculture, Guyana July 12, 2012

Transcription

1 Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative Food Security- A vehicle to Eliminate Hunger in Guyana and the Caribbean By :Hon. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy Minister of Agriculture, Guyana July 12, 2012

2 MDG 1 Guyana and most of the Caribbean countries have reached the MDG 1 Long Life Expectancies but high NCDs

3 Food Aid (Tons) Country Cuba 3 0 DR Guyana 46 0 Jamaica 293 0

4 About 1b people, about 15% of the world s population are foodinsecure today. It is largely a problem of developing countries. About 17% of the world s food insecure people live in Latin American and the Caribbean M in LAC 8.3 M in the Caribbean / CARIFORUM Countries

5 Population of the Caribbean/Cariforum Countries 38.2 M Population undernourished 8.3M Most of this (5.5M) in Haiti

6 Country Dietary Energy/Per Capita % Under Nourished Depth of Hunger (Cal/per Capita) % Under weight Population Low Birth Weight (%) Bahamas Barbados Belize Cuba Dominica Dominica Republic Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & The Grenadines Suriname Trinidad & Tobago

7 Various drivers for food insecurity: Increasing population Changing and converging consumption patterns Increasing per capita incomes, leading to increased resource consumption Growing demand for meats and dairy products Growing demand for bio-fuels Increasing water and land scarcity Adverse effects of climate change slow progress in enhancing agriculture productivity because of lack of research funding Inequitable trade regimes

8 Serious Threats High International Debt High Food Import Bill= More than $US3.5B in CARICOM

9 Food Import Bill & Government International Debt Country Government Debt (%GDP) Food Import Bill (Per Capita) Bahamas Barbados Belize Cuba Dominica Dominica Republic Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent Suriname Trinidad & Tobago World Developing Countries 66 LAC 110

10 Agriculture must be a priority for food security

11 % GDP on Agriculture Only three countries with more than 10% Guyana 21% Dominica 19.5% Belize 12.2% Others vary between 0.4% in Trinidad to 7.5% in St Vincent

12 Guyana has introduced many initiatives to improve agriculture Grow More Food Campaign Agriculture Diversification Program Agriculture Sector Support Program Rural Enterprise Agriculture Development Program

13 Twenty Priority Actions

14 Guyana & REED + Development of 200 MW hydro-electricity plant. The re-engineering of our drainage and irrigation system; Addition of new lands for cultivation, Pursuit of bio-fuel production, Expansion of aqua-culture, Increasing production of traditional fruits and vegetables Increasing new areas of fruits and vegetable production to reduce imports Developing fiber optic capacity to support the establishment of technology parks

15 The Jagdeo Initiative identified Nine Key Binding Constraints that Cause vulnerability of the Region s Food Supply Limited financing Deficient and uncoordinated risk management measures Inadequate research and development Outdated and inefficient agricultural health and food safety (AHFS) systems Weak land and water management systems Inadequate transportation systems, particularly for perishables Weak and non-integrated market information and intelligence systems Weak linkages and participation of producers in growth market segments Lack of skilled and quality human resources

16 Regular Marine Assessment so that we can sustainably extract marine resources

17 Our Institutions We must Support Them CARPHA CFNI, CEHI, CAREC, CHRC, CRDTL CARDI CCCC CAFHSA

18 Investment for Research to Support Agriculture Intensification The availability of water and good soils are genuine limiting factors. Find solutions for pests, weeds and diseases that limit farming productivity. Maintain and enhance crop and livestock genetic resources

19 Caribbean countries spend less than 0.1% of GDP on agriculture research Only Cuba with 0.5% spend any measurable amount on agriculture research Brazil spends 1.1% Chile spends 0.7% Uruguay spends 0.6% Argentina spends 0.5% Mexico spends 0.4%

20 We must pursue carefully, but aggressively the potential of genomics to improve crops, introduce new crops, and generate better soil management practices. We must unlock the unrealized potential for crop and livestock genomes through breeding and genetic modification technologies such as more efficient photosynthetic mechanisms, reduced reliance on nitrogen and other fertilizers; these objectives must become part of the research and applied science agenda that must be supported by public funding to refine existing crops and provide enhanced yields, giving us more production per acre of land, with the same amount or less water.

21 Agronomy, soil science and agro-ecology relevant sciences as we pursue sustainable food security are neglected areas in the development agenda. Today, as we start this 6 th Hunger-Free Initiative Conference, we must reaffirm our commitment to the science of crop management and agriculture practices. There is no global agriculture panacea we must adopt a diversity of approaches, taking into consideration crops, livestock, localities, cultures and other circumstances.

22 A call for agriculture extension services. connecting farmers with new innovations. Extension services are under-funded and neglected.

23 The establishment of an appropriate biotechnology policy is critical. Such a policy must be based on maintaining the safety of the environment, the wellbeing of farming families, the ecological and economic sustainability of farming systems, the health and nutrition security of consumers, safeguarding of home and external trade and the bio-security of the nation. CARICOM, must agree on a sound Genetic Modified Organism (GMO) policy framework sooner than later.

24 Investment for agriculture ODA Neglect The sad truth is that we have experienced a massive decline in foreign aid that goes to agriculture, from 17% in 1980 to 3% in We need a reversal of this trend.

25 The Green Fund Rio must see us making reality of our commitments at Kyoto and we must move on the Green Fund we agreed to at Durban. And agriculture must be a major focal area for investments through the Green Fund. The vulnerabilities of our economies, particularly agriculture-based economies, to climate change must be addressed through the development and implementation of comprehensive adaptation strategies for dealing with climate change, droughts, floods, land degradation and natural disasters. A significant portion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adaptation funding, the Green Fund, must be allocated for this purpose.

26 There are boundless opportunities for agriculture beyond the priority of food production. Agriculture must not be seen only as a producer of food for local consumption or for export. Agriculture in Guyana and other Caribbean countries must be developed beyond food. For example, Guyana has the opportunity to create biomass as a carbon credit source and for the production of bio-fuel, satisfying needs other than feeding our people, needs that ensure a sustainable and affordable fuel source and as a producer of carbon credit.

27 Thank you