AMCM 2020 Preview

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Food Security

by Ian Douglas

Food security is a measure of the availability of food and individuals' accessibility to it, where accessibility includes affordability. There is evidence of food
security being a concern over 10,000 years ago, with central authorities in ancient Kemet (Egypt) and China and being known to release food from storage
in times of famine.

Food security is essential for the region because it carries significant benefits for human health and is essential for short-term and long-term economic
growth. The Caribbean is rich in natural resources; it is no surprise that Agriculture underpin many of the region's economy. The region is renowned for its
exotic varieties of fruit and vegetables hence agriculture is the major economic land-use activity in most Caribbean countries.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 2015 report, almost all CARICOM countries import more than 60 % of the
food they consume, with half of them importing more than 80 % of the food they consume. Food imports are projected to increase to US$8-10 billion by
2020, according to FAO, highlighting a huge problem on the horizon for the region as its food import bill is getting bigger and bigger. With the decline of
intraregional agricultural trade, decreasing foreign exchange earnings due to the collapse of many export agricultural crops, a large food import bill is a huge
element of the Caribbean's rising food insecurity challenges.

The disadvantage of rising import bill shed some light on health conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart conditions across the region which are
attributed to an increasing reliance on processed foods resulting in the high cost of medical treatment for the peoples of the region. The spectre of climate
change and its impacts undoubtedly adds to growing concerns.

We are seeing that Caribbean governments and the peoples of the region have begun to grasp the importance of the food security issue, which is in reality a
global concern and one of grate significance for the region. The sensationalized and dramatic incidences of food shortages and hunger through the mass
media is absent from the Caribbean psyche. This has led to an underestimation of the problem and perhaps a relaxed attitude which appears as
complacency in the region.

The knowledge and full understanding of the extent of the realities of hunger in the region is not known. Hence food security in the Caribbean and
CARICOM's food and nutrition is at the moment is at best precarious. The potential impact of climate change and ubiquitous natural hazards in region is a
ongoing risk, due to the high occurrence of tropical storms, floods, droughts and earthquakes.

These potential hazards threaten the islands along with the decline in local food production across the region; the growing dependence on imported food
and goods are at the surface of a growing problem. The estrangement of Caribbean populations from traditional foods and diets along with disruptions in the
economic base and livelihoods in Caribbean rural communities add to the challenges in addressing food security in the Caribbean. A hands on approach to
the issue requires the revitalization of sustainable local food production systems.

Strategies for effective food security must be multi-dimensional in a combination of coordinated actions across a number of key areas including: agriculture,
health and nutrition, infrastructure and most important finance. One of the major issues to solve in the region is the reduction of the water footprint and the
effective use of available land. Given the current land, water and other limitations of the region, new technology strategies must be factored in order to
produce higher yields to satisfy wide domestic use and exports.

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