Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar says the Ministry of Agriculture is seeking to identify a national production brigade to reduce the country’s food import bill, which amounts to Two Hundred Million dollars.
Caesar said they are anticipating that most of the individuals will come from the technical college Agriculture class.
“We want to reach as far back as the last five years and bring these young persons together into a group, provide them with the land. Seeds would be given to them along with other support. We would also be working with the cooperatives as well”.
Caesar says there are plans to produce new crops of vegetables using technology and encouraged farmers to invest.
“There is space for new money in Agriculture. For economic growth, for the increase in production and productivity. We are also going to assign a subcommittee in the Ministry just for this project”.
In December 2020, Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar issued a call for the nation to eat more locally produced food in 2021.
The minister said while St Vincent and the Grenadines produces a large percentage of the food it consumes, the food import bill at that time was over 100 million dollars.
Caesar noted while the call was made before to ‘buy local’, the present negative resultant implications of COVID-19 demand that SVG is more targeted in achieving this goal of increasing local consumption.
In 2020 the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said it was committed to reducing its US$5B food import bill by 25% in the next five years (25 in 5) as it implements ifs food and nutrition programmes.
However, the Organisation said its strategies to achieve this goal must be grounded in a framework involving the Community, the private sector, and international donor partners and bolstered by multilateral support, particularly in policy Intervention, institutional strengthening, investment, etc., sector financing.
According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Jamaica spends over US$1 billion; the Bahamas, US$1.5 billion; Trinidad & Tobago, US$1 billion, Barbados, US$450 million; Guyana, US$450 million; Haiti, US$1.5 billion and Cuba, US$2.5 billion in the importation of food.
The Caribbean possesses plenty of arable lands and is renowned for many of its crops, yet it largely remains unable to feed itself adequately.
Experts at the University of the West Indies urged Caribbean countries in May 2020 to invest more in ensuring regional food security.
