Given the increasing impacts of climate change on the regional agricultural systems sector, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha recently articulated that financial instruments for de-risking are therefore critical if the sector is to move forward.
The official made this point during his participation at the Meetings of the Americas on Climate Change and Agriculture which was held virtually and organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in the lead-up to the Ninth Summit of the Americas scheduled for June 2022.
In his preamble, the minister said, “We cannot overlook the urgency of increasing the climate resilience of the agriculture sector. If we do, our objectives of enhancing productivity and production, food security, economic growth, and improving livelihoods will not be possible.”
Mustapha added, “Given the Caribbean region’s increased vulnerability to natural disasters due to the effects of climate change, and the threat it places on agricultural production and food security, urgent action is needed to protect the Caribbean’s agriculture and food systems. This requires a more integrated approach, a single shared vision, and coordination of efforts towards sustainable change.”
Towards this end, he stressed the need for the de-risking of the regional agricultural sector. He explained that developing financial instruments such as weather-related insurance products, along with additional, layered approaches to disaster risk financing at the national level should be given due attention.
In fact, the minister shared that this was one of the areas of focus posited during the Caribbean Regional Dialogue on Food Systems which was held in May 2021. Minister Mustapha said the de-risking of the regional agricultural sector through the provision of alternative sources of financing and insurance products for the region based on the peculiarities of each Member State is critical to moving the sector forward.
Guyana Standard understands that the CARICOM Special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security, which was established to guide the transformation of the Regional Agri-Food Systems towards full commercialization, will continue to work aggressively on these priority areas to improve the sustainability of the agriculture sector in the Region.
As for the summit, this news agency understands that it will provide an opportunity for leaders to engage in high-level dialogue to jointly address the urgent need to transform the agriculture sector in response to climate change while meeting other sector goals. Leaders will also be able to work together to identify appropriate mechanisms for joint action and seek opportunities to channel technical and financial resources towards transforming the sector in the face of climate change.
