The ambitious plan of 15 member states within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to slash their US$6 billion food import bill by 25% reduction by 2025’s end, has been pushed back to 2030. Guyana’s Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali made the announcement a few days ago at the 48th CARICOM Heads of Gov’t Meeting in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Ali noted that in 2024, the region was affected by major climate change impacts such as Hurricane Beryl as well as geopolitical tensions. Importantly, he highlighted that food prices for cattle, meat, dairy, vegetable oil, and raw sugar, increased significantly on the global market. These are all major items that are imported within CARICOM territories and therefore, the inflation is absorbed by their respective economies.
The Guyanese leader was keen to note that for 2025, the pressure is set to increase. He cautioned that the climate-related challenges, rising transportation and logistics costs, and uncertainty in tariffs and trade rules will have a significant impact on the costs of food globally and within the region.
Providing an example of one major concern, Ali noted that bird flu, first reported around March 2022, has reached an alarming level. “There’s a 20% decline in egg production from the US, and we source most of our hatching eggs out of the US. Many countries also source table eggs from the US.
“In fact, in some regions, when you look at the year-on-year increase in the cost of eggs since the first reported case of bird flu, it is a 70% increase,” said Ali.
As of January this year in the US, the Head of State highlighted that there is a 15% increase in the prices of eggs. Turning his attention to poultry meat, he said there is an 11% decline in production in the US. He said the gravity of this situation needs to be considered against the backdrop that the US occupies close to 30% of the global market share in terms of poultry meat. If Brazil becomes affected, Ali said there will be major problems in terms of prices and supply.
While these matters require careful attention, the President reminded of the gains made since the “25 by 2025 vision” was launched just before COVID-19 hit the region in 2020.
“If you look from 2022 to the end of October-November 2024, we had about a 24% increase in food production across the region. We had major investments in infrastructure to support food production, whether it’s cold storage, farm-to-market access roads, solar drying facilities, loan approvals, or the establishment of dairy facilities,” said President Ali. The official said there was also significant increases in private sector investment and lending in the agriculture sector and the food production chain within the region.
Ali also noted that in the last four years, critical investments were made to support a situation room and data centre to help farmers with predictive data, predictive analysis, and real-time information.
He also noted that several projects will be pursued with assistance from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. One of these projects entails enhancing the adaptive capacity of coastal communities through an integrated agro-marine value chain to strengthen coastal community resilience to climate change. Another project will focus on establishing a digital fabrication lab (Fab Lab) to promote technological innovation in agriculture and tourism, thereby bridging the digital gap and focusing on youth and women’s capacity building for tech-based solutions in food production and agriculture.
Overall, Ali said these projects will expand CARICOM’s focus beyond food security to include resilience, sustainability, and enhanced technology. This he assured will involve greater participation from women and youth by 2030.
