Some suggest Barbadians are beginning to wake up because ‘dozens’ not thousands have been protesting by marching on weekends. It is a pity the majority of Barbadians are happy to be swept along by the policies of successive governments that serve to solidify our over reliance on tourism.
Of significant concern for conscientious Barbadians has been the inability of successive governments along with private sector players to increase agriculture output to move the GDP needle. We borrow hundreds of millions of foreign dollars to address all types of issues, however, we continue to struggle with frontally addressing our food security concerns.
Against the foregoing a man like Senator Dr. Chelston Brathwaite should be complimented for the selfless work he has been doing to attract attention to the agriculture sector. His resume is littered with accomplishments to reflect his commitment to the sector and Barbados. See his profile detailing over 50 years of service to country- Dr. Chelston Brathwaite.
The following is a Private Members Bill – A Resolution on Food Security – that was introduced in 2022 by Senator Dr Chelston Brathwaite on Food security. It is as relevant then as it is today – the question to be asked, are the majority of Barbadians sensitive to the lack of accomplishment to address food security in Barbados?
A Resolution on Food Security presented by Senator Dr. Chelston
WD BrathwaiteWHEREAS the global spread of the Corona virus pandemic, Covid 19, and
the war between Russia and Ukraine have created an unstable global
economic situation in this the twenty second year of the 21st Century;AND WHEREAS these events have exposed the vulnerability of small island
developing states like Barbados to the lack of indigenous energy and food
supplies which threatens the viability of our model of development;AND WHEREAS the Pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine and
diverse adverse weather events in the last two years have resulted in
significant reduction in global food supplies;
AND WHEREAS one third of the world’s wheat supplies, two thirds of the
world sunflower oil production and a significant part of the world
fertilizers are supplied by Russia and Ukraine;AND WHEREAS there is a general view that the health crisis has already
evolved into an economic crisis and the combination of the pandemic, and
the war signal the real possibility of a food crisis;AND WHEREAS the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the UN have already predicted in the near future the
occurrence of famines of biblical proportions;
AND WHEREAS historically many Caribbean countries including Barbados
grew by narrowly focusing on tourism and have neglected the agricultural
sector which has resulted in massive dependency on imports of food and a
food import bill of some 4 billion dollars in the CARICOM;
AND WHEREAS the Governments of 35 countries around the world have
adopted export controls to secure their domestic food supplies in the last
two years and some have banned the exports of wheat, soya, corn and
fertilizers;AND WHEREAS the Caribbean food supply is heavily reliant on imports
from the United States where data from the International Trade Centre
(ITC) indicates that the 15 nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
source up to 94 per cent of their food imports from the US market (2018).
94 per cent of all CARICOM imports of cereals, 90 per cent of edible fruits
and nut imports, 90 per cent of imports of edible vegetables and certain
roots and tubers and 91 per cent of sugars and sugar confectionary imports
originate from the United States (2018);AND WHEREAS the consumption of imported processed foods high in
trans fats, saturated fats, sugars and salt have been associated with the high
incidence of chronic non communicable diseases in the region;AND WHEREAS in 2011, a high-level meeting that was held at the United
Nations in New York to discuss the need for a global attack on the
incidences of chronic non-communicable diseases concluded that
cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases, and diabetes are
responsible for 60% of all deaths in the world today and one of the risk
factors that contribute to the incidence of these diseases is the increased
consumption of processed foods and ready-to-serve meals that are rich in
trans-fats, saturated fats, salts and sugars;
AND WHEREAS the meeting indicated that chronic non-communicable
diseases are a threat to development as these diseases contribute to high
health care costs and low productivity.BE IT RESOLVED therefore that in light of the global food crisis that
Barbados develop an integrated food security plan which will:I. Reposition the agricultural sector and recognise farmers as
important contributors to our economic development and
decree that all vacant arable land be used to produce food.
II. Strengthen the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional
Security.
III. Allocate more resources to the sector especially for investment
in new technologies and market information systems.IV. Focus our research and development efforts on agricultural
technologies for production and processing of locally produced
products.
V. Promote a change in the consumption patterns of the
population from a focus on imported food to a focus on
consumption of local foods by promoting nutrition education
and implementing appropriate policy measures.
VI. Review our policies on importation of food items and provide
incentives to produce food locally and regionally.
VII. Review our land use policies, strengthen agricultural
extension services, make agriculture and food security a
compulsory subject on the curriculum in our schools,
strengthen the fisheries subsector and promote Climate Smart
Agriculture by the incorporation of climate smart technologies
in production.
VIII. Promote Private sector/Public sector partnerships in
Food Production and Processing and the development of an
agricultural insurance system to support this initiative.
IX. Develop a regional agricultural information system that would
inform on the availability of food supplies in various countries
of the region during the year thereby strengthening initiatives
to promote regional trade and creating the enabling
environment to move food from countries and areas with
excess to countries and areas with deficits.
X. Develop a system of payments for regional food trade in local
currencies.AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the integrated food security plan
informed by the agricultural development vision of 2012 be reduced to a
development document and made available to the Senate.
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