The Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, Chair of CARICOM and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, on Tuesday, 17 March, positioned agriculture at the “front of the line” of delivering food security and developing a sustainable nation.
Delivering the feature address at the launch of the Regional Economical Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP) in St Kitts and Nevis, Prime Minister Drew said agriculture should not be seen as a “by the way activity but should be brought into the mainstream” as it is critical to the achievement of food security that is a pillar of building a “sustainable island state.”
Placing the launch in the context of regional cooperation, Prime Minister Drew said:
“CARICOM has come through. We just had the 50th Regular Meeting here in St. Kitts and Nevis. And for those who doubt whether CARICOM is valuable or not, of course you recognise that this is an initiative that has been led by CARICOM. St. Kitts and Nevis alone could not have done this. This is the value of CARICOM,” he said.
The Prime Minister placed heavy emphasis on the importance of the farming community and pointed out the risks farmers and fishers face from natural disasters which can cause widespread devastation.
“Imagine one event can wipe out millions of dollars in investment with no guarantee that you will receive some form of compensation,” he said.
He pointed out that REAP provides a guarantee of derisking to registered farmers and fisherfolk “so that you can have some ease of mind that you can continue to practice your craft, and in the event that a phenomenon were to happen, that you would be protected and get back to activities as quickly as possible.”
Prime Minister Drew said that the investment in the insurance product, which will be beneficial primarily to crop and livestock farmers and fishers, is fundamental.
Agriculture Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Samal Duggins; CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General (ag), Economic Integration, Innovation and Development, Dr. Wendell Samuel; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lynch Caribbean Brokers Ltd., Mr. Gregory Rose; Managing Director, Lynch Caribbean Brokers Ltd, Mr. Damian Bowen and Ms. Diana Williams-Humphrey, General Manager, National Caribbean Insurance, were among the officials who delivered remarks at the launch.
The St. Kitts and Nevis launch – the third following launches in Guyana and Saint Lucia – was held as the Region advances its 25×25+5 food security initiative which aims to reduce its food import bill by 25 per cent by 2030.
You may watch the launch ceremony here.
ABOUT REAP
The Regional Economical Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP), a public-private partnership, is a major deliverable of the CARICOM Special Ministerial Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security (MTF) aimed at assisting with the de-risking of the sector through the provision of agricultural insurance for farmers within CARICOM. It is an insurance product, offered by Lynch Caribbean Brokers Ltd, and a consortium of partners, that pays out based on the observed loss when an event damages crop production. The objective is to increase resilience of registered beneficiaries against extreme weather events through a direct payout mechanism that will cover cost of production and/or business interruption; pillared by a multi-perils traditional cover.
About CARICOM
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was established on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was revised in 2001 to allow for the establishment of a single market and economy. CARICOM comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members and is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. CARICOM’s work rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security cooperation.
The members of CARICOM work together to create a Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena, where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice, and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity.
CARICOM remains one of the best examples of integration in the developing world.
The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.
