Three local organisations are now in a better position to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to their members over the coming days as the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security joined forces with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to make a donation on Friday.
The contribution of several pounds of fruits and vegetables was made to the Child Care Board as well as two non-governmental organisations, the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness and Street Lamp Ministries. The presentation took place at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Graeme Hall, Christ Church headquarters.
It came a day ahead of World Food Day 2021, which is being celebrated under the theme Our Actions are Our Future – Better Production, Better nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life.
Addressing the brief ceremony, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir said his ministry was committed to ensuring that food and nutrition security became a reality for all in Barbados.
He said it was for that reason that his ministry had started work on a number of initiatives with several partners and stakeholders.
“In Barbados and certainly in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, we are committed to doing our part on the global agenda. With this in mind, we are strengthening our linkages with our partners like FAO and forging new ones to ensure that every Barbadian’s right to safe and nutritious food is fulfilled,” said Weir.
Stating that the donation of food was one initiative on which the ministry and the FAO were partnering, the minister said in addition to the sharing of planting materials and produce with schools, churches, individuals and NGOs to promote food and nutrition security and advancing interest in agriculture, his ministry was also “active” in lending technical assistance to numerous causes through its extension services.
Pointing to this year’s theme for World Food Day, the high levels of food insecurity globally and the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to achieve zero hunger by 2030, Weir said there was a growing need for collaboration.
“Our current global battle against the dreaded COVID-19 virus, the La Soufriere volcano eruption, a freak storm, and the passage of Hurricane Elsa, have all, through their disruption of our lives, forced a close examination of the complexity of the agri-food systems,” he said.
“The question therefore must be asked, how do we increase food security in an environment with limited availability of water,” he said.
The agriculture minister said his ministry was collaborating with the Barbados Agricultural and Marketing Corporation to embark on a water augmentation programme, which will provide irrigation supply to farmers in order to increase agricultural production.
Speaking on behalf of the FAO, National Programme Consultant Stephen Alleyne said the organisation was pleased to partner with the ministry on the programme.
He said the FAO was also hosting a number of other initiatives around the region in celebration of World Food Day 2021.
(MM)
