#BTSpeakingOut – The growing importance of food security

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Peter Webster

“The worse time to hear “I told you so.” is when you end up saying it to yourself”– Anon

“Time will say nothing but I told you so.” –W. H. Auden

“Ya know somehow “I told you so” doesn’t quite say it.” – Del Spooner (I Robot)

Over recent years we have witnessed several happenings or phenomena that have occurred with no or misleading explanations from our leaders and/or the press. These include “Brexit” followed closely
by “Trump”.

In both of these examples the demographic divide between the voters existed simply between rural and urban demographics.

You can ignore all the other simplistic labels like right-wing conservatives and evangelical.  A divide is growing between the primary food producers – the farmers – who must buy at retail prices and sell wholesale with their farm gate prices seldom reaching 40 per cent of the consumer market price and the consumers.

The European Union seriously damaged both the agricultural and fishing industries in the United Kingdom and we wonder why their rural people voted to leave the European Union – Brexit.

At the same time, the American farmers are beginning to realise that they have been mistreated and ignored for too long with poor infrastructure and second class education and health facilities while their compatriots in the cities who have the greater voting power get the cream
in social services.

We now have Russia grabbing a “bread basket” in the Ukraine like a “putain” claiming their “puteria”.  Are we in Barbados taking note and truly understanding what is happening in the International
Geo-Political sphere?

Should we not be preparing to respond to what the future will likely bring for us (who cannot feed ourselves, despite the plausible efforts of our agricultural administrators) when the World’s food production fails to meet the consumption demand – The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation has termed it the “crunch”.

That we have access to a “potential breadbasket” is not enough because hungry people will not be able to wait until the potential of that “breadbasket” is developed.

Planning for that needs to start now – if you do not know where you are going any road will get you there!

Round and round we go like water in a sinkhole vortex….