President of Guyana leads Regional Dialogue ahead of UN Food Systems Summit

The Virtual Regional Dialogue which takes place from 10 am-1 pm tomorrow, Friday, May 28,  is a precursor to the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit being held in September as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Regional Dialogue will be hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat, in partnership with the United Nations Resident Coordinators, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Friday’s Dialogue will focus primarily on food security, climate resilience, and financing. Its main aim is to garner the views of CARICOM Member States on key challenges facing Region’s food systems, and to formulate regional-level proposals to be highlighted in the international fora. It seeks to promote knowledge transfer and sharing of best practices critical for Caribbean SIDS. Farmers, policymakers, non-governmental organisations, businesses, and civil society will participate in the event. CARICOM Ministers of Agriculture will chair the three critical sessions on Climate Change, Caribbean Food Systems, Finance and Funding for the new Caribbean Food System and Food Production and Security, a Caribbean Imperative. The Ministers of Agriculture of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados and Guyana are among officials confirmed for the event.

Discussions on food security will address improving productivity, opportunities and constraints in agriculture forestry and fisheries, as well as new technologies and innovation. With respect to climate resilience, focus will be on commitment to transform to a low-carbon development pathway, climate-smart production processes and digitized data to address threats , risks,  and shock  responsiveness. Under the Funding and Financing theme, participants will explore the development of new financing instruments, financing innovation for financial literacy and job creation in the food system. 

Ideas, solutions, and action plans emanating from this dialogue will feed into the Global forum, as well as a pre-Summit event scheduled for July in Rome, to ensure that the voice of the Caribbean is well heard.  

This event is taking place as countries worldwide seek to strengthen health and agri-food systems, in the wake of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“The Caribbean is at a crossroads where only game-changing solutions will cause the transformation of our food systems to occur.  The time is now for all minds to be alike and at one in working towards achieving this goal.  The stage has been set by the CARICOM Heads of Governments with the establishment of the  Special Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security. This Regional Food Systems Dialogue will form the basis and foundation for this transformation to become a reality for the Caribbean,” said Mr. Shaun Baugh, Programme Manager, Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development at the CARICOM Secretariat.

UN Resident Coordinator, Didier Trebucq, further noted:  “Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) are currently facing multiple intersecting crises, including climate change, COVID-19, and natural disasters, that are adversely impacting development and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. We cannot discount the critical role that sustainable food security plays in helping to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Resident Coordinators and UN teams across the CARICOM region are working assiduously, in collaboration with our partners and stakeholders, to advance progress on SDG implementation, this regional dialogue is a significant step in the right direction.”

Mr. Manuel Otero, Director- General of IICA said farmers, science and technology and agriculture were critical to strengthening the transformations that were already taking place.

“The Food Systems Summit will offer an opportunity to reinforce multilateralism and strengthen the transformations already taking place, with respect to ensuring that agriculture is practiced in harmony with the environment; that it fosters inclusion; and that its vital contribution to proper nutrition and human health is clearly highlighted. IICA believes that this transformation should be driven on the basis of three principles: farmers should be heard, because without them, there would be no food; science and technology are critical to decision-making on these issues; and agriculture is part of the solution to problems such as climate change,” Mr. Otero said.

To register for the Dialogue, please click on the link: https://bit.ly/2RDKiQa

Join us also via:

https://youtu.be/Q5CCtuvjvv8

https://www.facebook.com/UNBarbadosandOECS

https://www.facebook.com/caricom.org

About the United Nations Food Security Summit 

The United Nations, through its Secretary-General, António Guterres, will convene a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 as part of “the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030”. 

The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems. It is a people’s summit for everyone everywhere, and a solutions forum that will require everyone to take action to transform the way the world produces, consume, and thinks about food.