Sustainable, climate-resistant agricultural practices will be key in the fight against the wave of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) sweeping the island and region, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir has declared.
Weir was speaking during Friday’s workshop on ‘Catalysing the Sustainable and Inclusive Transformation of Food Systems’ hosted in collaboration with the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, French Agriculture Research Centre for Development (CIRAD), and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
According to Weir, the Government-run Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) is only one of several steps being taken by the present administration, to not only educate young people of the benefits of working in agriculture but also has a greater benefit of encouraging those young farmers into investing in healthier and sustainable food production.
Weir said: “They [young farmers] would also be part of the programme that is driving the move towards a change of behaviour, a change in diets, and a change in tastes. In order for us to achieve this we have to get our young people delivering and carrying the message, to the extent that they are the ones helping us to drive the agriculture, where we can produce most of the foods that we eat, and then we are working with our hospitality sector as well to our chefs to get involved so that they too can help with the promotion of wholesome, healthy eating.”
The Minister added that the practice of investing heavily into sustainable agricultural production, will undoubtedly lead to drastically reduced health costs for Barbados and members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), particularly during this current COVID-19 pandemic, with a recent estimate placing Barbados’ health bill annually at $200 million.
“I am taking this approach [because] I believe this will help us to significantly reduce our health bill which is extremely high – over $200 million dollars annually. But at the same time, in grappling with COVID, because we are still in a COVID environment, we reduce the amount of stress that is on the healthcare system, hospital, and the polyclinics, by making sure people exercise, eat well, and avoid having to use these services, because COVID is standing in the way of persons using these health care services in the normal way,” Weir insisted.
Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Didacus Jules, underscored the need for active and dynamic change to the current structure of agricultural production within the Caribbean, but also voiced the need for multiple strategies in order to address health concerns being dealt with by regional governments.
Jules said: “A single initiative by itself is not enough to move the needle on agricultural progression. Traditionally, we have focused on the production and supply in the market, and employment generation for farmers, producers, and entrepreneurs; we have not taken sufficient account of the health of the population. Now we realize that what we are eating is not adequate and, therefore, if we continue along that trajectory the desired development of our region cannot be achieved.” (SB)
