(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will move one step closer to a food and nutrition security policy with the convening of a workshop to review the Draft CARICOM Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security, 26-27 July in Georgetown, Guyana.

The Workshop for the Validation of the CARICOM Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security, which will be held at Princess Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara, Guyana, is being coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations through funding from the Government of Italy and the European Commission.

Specialists in the field of agriculture, trade, health, nutrition, and representatives of regional institutions including Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Institute (CARDI) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), and international partners in development will determine whether the draft policy takes into consideration all the components that should be included in a regional framework for food and nutrition security.

They will consider the adequacy of measures identified in the draft policy to address the constraints to food and nutrition security. In addition, the stakeholders will review a plan of action for the implementation of the policy which outlines roles and functions of key stakeholders including government, sub-regional bodies, civil society, and farmers. This Validation Workshop forms part of the second phase of the FAO Food Security Policy project aimed at improving food security in CARICOM/CARIFORUM states through the strengthening of the food policy environment and the support of services to promote efficient and sustainable food systems.

The first phase of the project titled, Caribbean Regional Food Security Project was funded by the Government of Italy to the tune of USD $4.9 Million. Its objective was to improve the food security in CARICOM/CARIFORUM states by increasing the availability and access to adequate quantities of safe, quality assured food products to vulnerable groups and poor rural communities. This Phase is also being funded by the Italian Government, this time, to the tune of USD$ 4.07 Million.

The project synchronises with the goals of the Jagdeo Initiative and the Community Agricultural Policy outlined in Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. It is also in harmony with a renewed focus on agriculture in the Caribbean Community which was given added impetus in February 2007 when CARICOM Heads of government at their Eighteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting identified food security as a critical component of the Regional Transformation Programme for Agriculture. The Heads of Government had then mandated the CARICOM Secretariat to oversee the development of the regional food and nutrition security framework. In response to that mandate, the CARICOM Secretariat employed a participatory and multi-sectoral approach in the development of a Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security that would outline policy guidelines and strategies to secure higher food production; better health and nutrition; income and employment opportunities; and poverty alleviation, among other things.

The participatory approach saw collaboration among regional organisations and international partners in development including the FAO and the Inter-American Institution for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in looking for a food and nutrition security strategy that would encompass linkages between agriculture and trade; education; health; and social welfare.

Against this backdrop, the Validation Workshop will thoroughly scrutinise the Draft Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security to identify gaps, omissions and flaws, followed by relevant recommendations for amendment.

It is anticipated that the draft policy will be presented for the consideration of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) when it meets later this year.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org