NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022 7 KEISHA HILL Senior Gleaner Writer AS RUSSIA began its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on February 24, the world watched and reacted. On top of the deeply devastating human elements of war have been the unavoidable global political and economic implications and potential impacts on global food security. In the Caribbean, economists and leaders are reflecting on howconflict in the breadbasket of Europe will affect an import-dependent region that is still reeling from the financial impacts of COVID-19, amid supplychain disruptions, hikes in oil and commodity prices, rising shipping costs and limited availability of vessels and containers. President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, Janet Silvera, said since related supplychain issues and supply-side deficits have exerted inflationary pressures on the price of food in the Caribbean, it is now or never for Jamaicans, particularly those on the western end of the island who depend on tourism, to lay the foundation of a structured agricultural sector. “We have been speaking about it for years, and now is the time for real action. While our food import bill in 2018 was a whopping US$902.349 million for the corresponding period, Jamaica exported just over US$217 million of agricultural products. There is far more room for improvement, the same old, same old, cannot continue,” Silvera said. Silvera hailed the farmers in the parish for their commitment to safeguarding the nation’s food security, as registered farmers have been working hard to cultivate crops for both the local and export markets. Agricultural crops growing in the parish include vegetables, pineapples, bananas, plantains, ground provisions and Irish potato. There has also been diversification of ginger production, and the parish has positioned itself to become the leading producer of banana and plantain, with lands identified under the agro-parks programme for the growing of the crops. “The essential role of agriculture in the attainment of national and economic development necessitates the need for the modernisation of the sector, in a systematic and productive manner. This sector can be one of the major engines of growth for Jamaica and has a great capacity for food production. There are many exciting opportunities on the global market for the sector,” she said. AGRICULTURE The country’s prospects for developing agriculture and agribusiness lie in producing food in which it has a distinct and competitive advantage, pursuing product diversification through new value-added food products. There are many opportunities in agriculture, given the need to feed our population of approximately 2.8 million people and the over 3.8 million tourists who visit sour shore annually. To service these markets there is the need for the full range of vegetables, tuber s , da i r y products andmeat. Products such as coffee, cocoa and ginger readily come to mind and represent a few of the available opportunities. “No matter what happens to the people of Jamaica, agriculture has to go on. We must endeavour to build our agricultural sector in this country,” she said. With the current crisis in Ukraine, there is a general trend upwards in the price of oil which further compounds the current issue of logistics globally that has affected food security within the region. As this conflict has been brewing for some time and there has been no will towards stopping it, food security in the region is going to be rather contrived, particularly for the remainder of 2022 if there are no efforts to de-escalate rapidly. With an annual average of 19 per cent of all imports to the 15-member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), consisting of food and agricultural goods in the amount of more than $5 billion each year, which is typically covered by tourism-generated foreign reserves, Caribbean food security is deeply threatened by any major disruption that impacts the region. According to the results of the fourth Caribbean COVID-19 Food Security and Livelihoods Impact Survey administered by CARICOM, the World Food Programme, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization in February 2022, 88 per cent of people in the region have reported changes in their shopping behaviour, while 93 per cent have reported an increase in observed food prices. Jamaica Flour Mills (JFM), for example, Jamaica’s largest producer of wheat-based flour, was forced to raise prices three times during 2021, amounting to an increase of nine to 10 per cent, and in January 2022, Derrick Nembhard, managing director of JFM, warned of further price increases in the short term. “There must be a fundamental shift in the sector’s priority, raising it on the national development agenda which is to be supported by an overarching national policy framework for sustainable agriculture and rural development,” Silvera said. keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com MoBay chamber boss says it’s time lay the foundation for food security jamaica AT Now or never! jamaica at Silvera JAMAICA AT 60: M NTEGO BAY
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