Under this agenda, the Caribbean Community has been accelerating efforts to reduce the Region’s food import bill. At the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, the leaders extended the 25 by 2025 Initiative, which was aimed at reducing the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, to 2030. Now referred to as Vision 25 x 2025+5, this nitiative is a long-term social and economic partnership between CARICOM Member States, the regional private sector, regional organisations, producer groups, development partners and civil society. It outlines actions and critical areas of intervention to tackle the rising food import bill and reduce food insecurity, improve intra-regional trade, and create wealth and economic opportunity for every CARICOM Member State.

The CARICOM Ministerial Task Force on Agriculture (MTF), chaired by Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, has been driving policy initiatives to:

a. Reduce trade barriers to increase intra-regional trade.
b. De-risk the agricultural sector for alternative financing and insurance.
c. Improve regional air and sea transportation and logistics to support intra-regional trade and food security.
d. To diversify the agro-food system, support the growth of agro-industries and food processing MSME.
e. increase primary production of economically important crops like vegetables, corn, soya, and poultry.
f. increase public/private sector investment in production and research and development.
g. Implementing climate-smart agriculture can boost resilience and reduce production hazards.
g. Digitalize the agricultural industry.

The Initiative has benefited from targeted actions by CARICOM Member States, such as the agreement on and preparations for a sub-regional ferry service, enhanced trade arrangements, self-sufficiency in particular agricultural produce, reductions in import permits, expansions of agricultural lands, introduction of special breeding facilities, promotion of backyard farming, increased public and private sector partnerships, and the participation of women and youth in agriculture.

Several policy initiatives have also been developed to buttress Vision 25 by 2025.

These include:
• CARICOM Regional Agricultural Health and Food Safety (AHFS) Policy and National Framework;
• CARICOM Trade Policy for Animals and Animal Products;
• Alternate Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) Dispute Resolution Mechanism; and
• 19 Special Guidelines for the Trade in Animal and Plant Commodities

Some major achievements under food security initiative

The 25 by 2025+5 food and nutrition security initiative has recorded major achievements including increased production across the Region, and the implementation of key agricultural policies.

“We are seeing progress in some areas such as the introduction of a regional agricultural insurance product; increased cross-border investment; increased resource mobilisation and coordination towards the implementation of the 25 by 2025 Initiative; increased private sector involvement; large scale private sector investment in the sector – dairy, small ruminants, soya and poultry production; increased agricultural production in Member States (introduction of new/niche crops); development of a Regional Electronic Agriculture Market Information System; establishment of a US$100M fund for regional agriculture, and the Caribbean Food Systems Investment Initiative (CFSII)”, Ambassador David Prendergast, Director, Sectoral Programmes at the CARICOM Secretariat, said recently.

The CARICOM Secretariat continues to make advances in its quest to encourage the Region’s youth to become more involved in the agriculture sector.

In 2024, the Secretariat consolidated its approach to youth with several targeted programmes including the continuation of the ‘I am CARICOM: Youth in agriculture’ programme, and the introduction of a climate-smart initiative that has benefitted youth and women.

A Youth Advisory Body, established by the Special Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food and Nutrition Security, also became operational and launched an Agriculture Youth Strategy last year.

“In relation to our 25 by 2025 programme…we have made significant progress. If you look at 2022 to the end of October/November 2024, we would have had about a 24 per cent increase in food production across the Region. We would have had major investments in infrastructure to support food production, whether it’s cold storage, farm to market access roads, solar dryer facilities, loan approval, establishment of dairy facilities, we have seen a significant increase in private sector investment and lending in the agriculture sector and the food production chain within the Region.” -His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana and Lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture and Food Security in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet.