Averting the food crisis

Many issues are at play. Economic inequality has shaped a global food system in which billions of people are left hungry or lacking crucial vitamins, whereas other billions are over-consuming, spawning a public health epidemic — diabetes and cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases.

The situation has spawned a food and nutrition security crisis, with real and growing long-term consequences for people, economies, and our collective future.

Food is integral to human well-being; essential for survival and mental and physical development.

For the poor, the struggle to obtain the minimum recommended daily intake of calories is a dominant survival activity.

By 2050, an estimated global population of nine billion people must be fed. Consumers are likely to be wealthier, demanding a more varied, high quality diet requiring additional resources to produce.

Competition for land, water and energy will intensify. The effects of climate change will become increasingly apparent, with pressure to adopt climate smart strategies. The entire global community will be affected by the impacts.

Will we be able to feed ourselves sustainably and equitably? Not if we persist with the same approaches and practices. Today, our basic food needs are met by a narrow range of imported commodities.

This is untenable. It exposes our national food and nutrition security to unacceptable risk, being fully yoked to a global food system over which we have little or no influence. It also endangers our existing fragile national food system, abandoning it to robust economic and political pressures.

Our food and nutrition security is not imperilled by the coconut water, ground provisions and fruits sourced within Caricom, but by the millions of dollars spent on extra-regional food imports which also indisputably adversely impact our health.

It is imperative, therefore, that we enhance capacity to produce more ecologically responsible, wholesome, locally grown food for citizens. We need to build an alternative food system aimed at dramatically expanding access to fresh food, supporting sustainable (less resource-intensive) local food production and ultimately helping to create more resilient, vibrant rural communities.

This challenge requires national consensus, calling for fresh, innovative approaches. It entails remaking the supply chain, covering production, processing, marketing, storage, food preparation, merchandising, distribution and trade. There must be broad, committed involvement of the public sector, private enterprise and the people and effective coordination across the public administration.

An indispensable pre-condition is alignment of policy in sectors outside the food system and food policy. For the sustainability of the national food system depends on decisions made about energy, water supply, land use, marine resources, ecosystem services and biodiversity, education and national development.

The vision is that of our small farmers, the mainstay of domestic food production, organised in clusters across the rural landscape, with access to affordable land, technology and markets, trained to operate farms effectively as businesses. Infrastructure will be created to facilitate more direct sales, including to larger institutions; and distribution channels developed to make fresh food a convenient, affordable option for everyone.

This is both possible and necessary.

WINSTON R RUDDER Petit Valley