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Caribbean
food security
Caribbean food security programme to be launched
A
region-wide programme to ensure food security, poverty reduction
and improvements in health and nutrition in the Caribbean
will be officially launched in Port of Spain today.
The
Caribbean Food Security, Health and Rural Poverty Programme
is a joint project of the CARIFORUM (Caricom plus Dominican
Republic and Cuba) and the United Nations' Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO).
According
to Dr P I Gomes, consultant programme manager, Jamaica, Haiti,
Suriname, Guyana and Belize are the countries within the region
where "food insecurity" appears to be more "notably
widespread". The aim of the programme, he said, is to
improve "the level and quality of food available to the
Caribbean population at affordable prices, particularly for
the highly vulnerable and poor rural households of the 15-member
CARIFORUM group of countries..."
The
ceremonial launch of the programme, to be formally done by
Trinidad and Tobago's minister of agriculture, land and marine
resources, Jarrett Narine, is part of a two-day implementation
and planning meeting that ends tomorrow.
The
programme is being co-ordinated from the FAO Country Office
in Port of Spain and will provide specialised expertise in
areas such as irrigation techniques for improving the productivity
of farming communities, consulting services for policy studies
and public education campaigns.
A
working group is to be established to help formulate a regional
food security strategy paper. Representatives will be drawn
from regional institutions, producers' associations, marketing
agencies, private enterprises and non-governmental organisations.
A
leading partner in the programme is Italy, whose government
has allocated about US$50 million to a special trust fund
to address world hunger and food insecurity among the rural
poor. Approximately US$5 million has been identified for the
joint Caricom/CARIFORUM/FAO programme activities.
A
central feature of the programme will be a review of agricultural
trade policies. It will also:
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explore linkages between improved health and nutrition policies;
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as well as introduce farmers' organisations and small farm
households to year-round production of vegetables and staple
commodities for both local consumption and exports
RICKEY
SINGH, Observer Caribbean correspondent
Thursday, December 04, 2003
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