The
early morning meeting at the Le Meridian Hotel, outside
the Mauritian capital of Port Louis, was attended
by civil society and business leaders, and government
representatives of several countries of the Caribbean
and Pacific regions including the Prime Minister of
Tonga, His Royal Highness Prince Ulukalala Lavaka
Ata and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vanuatu, Hon. Sato
Kilman. Several officials of the Government of Italy
were also in attendance. The participants discussed
with funding agencies, including the FAO and the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the elements
of existing projects, as well as the need for additional
programmes aimed at reducing food dependency and correcting
the inability on the part of many countries to produce
sufficiently to feed their populations.
In
his welcoming remarks, Secretary-General of CARICOM,
His Excellency Edwin Carrington, noted that while
up to the mid 1980s CARICOM countries as a group were
net food exporters, the Region is now a significant
net food importer.
This situation, he warned, could become worse in a
short while, as the main export crops of the member
countries continue to lose markets and value as a
result of liberalisation especially within the European
Union (EU).
He added that against the background of these challenges
and following the experience of a near food crisis
in some Caribbean countries in the aftermath of September
11, the FAO and the CARICOM Secretariat collaborated
on the development of a US$26 Million Food Security
Project. The project was launched in December 2002
in association with the Inter-American Development
Bank and by March 2003 received the prompt and positive
response of the Government of Italy, which signed
a US$5 Million component in October that year.
Mr.
Carrington thanked the FAO and the Government of Italy
for their support and noted that the project fitted
within CARICOM’s own initiatives to formulate
a comprehensive policy on Agriculture. That policy
resulted in the development of the Regional Transformation
Programme in Agriculture, which falls under the guidance
of Lead Head of Government with responsibility for
agriculture, His Excellency the President of Guyana,
and in keeping with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
establishing CARICOM including the Single Market and
Economy (CSME).
“We
in the Caribbean recognise that many of the challenges
we face in the area of agriculture, food production
and food security are shared by our brothers and sisters
in the Pacific, and so we are pleased to be forging
an important partnership in this regard,” the
Secretary-General said. He added: “All our efforts,
we must never forget, are vital to reducing the vulnerability
of our small island states in the critical area of
food security and preserving the well-being of our
people. There is no objective and endeavour of greater
importance.”
Meanwhile,
Deputy Director-General for Development Co-operation
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Mr. Gilanni
Ghisi pointed out that food security is one of the
two pillars of Italian support to small island states
– the other being in the area of governance
through the use of Information and Communications
Technologies (ICTs). He expressed the satisfaction
and confidence of the Government of Italy in working
with both the Caribbean and the Pacific regions in
the continuation of beneficial relationships.