Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Address delivered by Hon. Ignatius Jean
on the Occasion of World Food Day
16th, October 2005

Since early hunter-gatherers began the domestication and exploitation of wild crops and animals some 10,000 years ago, Agriculture, like society, has evolved considerably. The plow and the sickle have been replaced with tractors and mowers. Fertilization, irrigation and pest and disease control have evolved into standard practices in agriculture.  The “green revolution” has given way to the “gene revolution” and basic agriculture has given way to biotechnology and organic agriculture.  The dugout canoe has given way to massive trawlers, and the simple fishing net now competes with fish aggregating devices.  Sustainability and environmental protection are now the cornerstones of forest and general natural resources management.  Yet, in spite of these advances, there are some disturbing trends.

For example, the rate of growth of global crop and livestock production slowed during the first three years of this millennium, 2000 to 2002, following the strong output growth recorded in 1999. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that from 1999 to 2002, both total and per capita crop and livestock production worldwide have declined.  What’s more, global output growth in each of the three years 2000-2002 is below the average of each of the three preceding decades. This pattern applies to both the developed and the developing country groups.  Global utilization, on the other hand, has been continuing on an upward trend and has been exceeding production by significant amounts since 2000/01.

Similarly, world capture fisheries production declined from 95.4 million tonnes in 2000 to 92.4 million tonnes in 2001.  In per capita terms, total supplies of fish for food from capture have been stagnating in recent years, including the Caribbean region.

Moreover, the FAO estimates the number of undernourished people in the world at 842 million: 798 million in the developing countries, 34 million in the countries in transition and 10 million in the developed countries.

As of August 2003, the number of countries facing serious food shortages and requiring international assistance stood at 38.  In many of these countries, the food shortages were compounded by the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on good production, marketing, transport, health and human development in general.

Although adverse weather conditions were behind many of the emergency situations, human-induced disasters were also a major factor.  Civil strife or the existence of internally displaced people or refugees were among the reasons for more than half of the reported food emergencies in Africa. Conflict and economic problems were cited as the main causes of more than 35 percent of food emergencies between 1992 and 2003.

Hunger and Food Security:

Adequate food is essential for an active and healthy life. Hunger affects the well-being of people, nations and the world. To be food-secure means that we must always be able to get the appropriate foods we need for a healthy lifestyle.   Food security implies availability, accessibility, and proper use of food.  For many of the undernourished people of the world, most of them living in rural areas, access to food is assured only if they produce the food themselves or if they have sufficient money to afford and buy it. 

In St. Lucia and the wider Caribbean there is a significant imbalance in what we grow and what we eat. Much of what we eat comes from imported foods, leading to a US$3 billion food import bill. Research carried out by the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) indicate that a great proportion of the imported foods we consume indeed contribute to the many illnesses and diseases affecting our peoples and development.

Much of the earnings we obtain from exports eventually end up in treating such illnesses and diseases, thus resulting in an unsustainable health care system and dysfunctional lifestyles.  The time has come for us to recognize and appreciate the fresh and healthy foods produced by our local farmers and fishers.  The popular refrain “grow what you eat, and eat what you grow” is certainly relevant.

This year the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations celebrates its 60^th anniversary and the 25^th anniversary of World Food Day.  World Food Day affords us an opportunity to focus our attention on food security, and its interaction with hunger and environmental degradation. It also allows us the opportunity to examine the true worth of agriculture, fisheries and forestry and their role in the reduction of poverty and hunger and the sustainability of human development.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue”.  This theme explores the contribution of different cultures to world agriculture and argues that sincere intercultural dialogue is a precondition for progress against hunger and environmental degradation.

St. Lucia is replete with examples of intercultural dialogue in agriculture. Improved breeds of livestock as well as improved species of plants have been imported from various countries and are now widely used in local farming.  Horses and cattle were introduced with the advent of the Europeans and coffee was introduced from Africa; cocoa and maize from Central and South America; Bananas, breadfruit and coconut from the Far East. The richness of our dishes is a perfect manifestation of the “Potpouri” of cultures that have made us who we are today.

More recently, we’ve had a constant stream of visiting agricultural experts from the Caribbean, U.S.A., Canada, France, the UK, China, Japan, Cuba and Latin America.  Our experts have also been trained in these countries, as well as elsewhere. Institutions such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and FAO at the international level, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) at the regional level, also facilitate intercultural dialogue in agriculture, among others, such as the many learning regional Universities (UWI/University of Guyana).

St. Lucia also benefits from the peaceful co-existence of descendants from various cultures such as the African, Asian, Indigenous peoples (Caribs and Arawaks) Arabs and Europeans. Foods typical of individual groups are now increasingly produced and consumed by just about everyone. For example, the Asian curries, roti and dalpuri, and the Native Indian cassava are well known and have almost become traditional.

 One of the most important forms of intercultural dialogue, and probably the one that poses the greatest challenge to us as a developing country, is world trade. Experts contend that both opportunities and threats exist in the present system of World Trade, but so far, for developing countries the threats appear to be more evident. Due to our special circumstances our farmers are finding it difficult to compete in international markets while subsidized produce from industrialized countries is sold at, or below production costs in our countries.

In this regard, we firmly and resolutely support the view that further and much dialogue is required for the development of a fairer trading system, and I dare say, that this is a pre-requisite for a more peaceful, just and democratic world. This dialogue is essential to minimize, if not eliminate, the apparently consistent exploitation of the vulnerabilities of developing countries, such as St. Lucia and the wider Caribbean. Similarly, we believe that it is dialogue that will bring about a win-win situation on the review of the trading regime for bananas in Europe.  Even more importantly, we believe that it is continuous dialogue that is also required to effectively manage and combat the negative impacts of globalization and trade liberalization.

At this juncture, I seize this opportunity to wish all our diligent and dignified farmers, fishers, foresters and agriculturists in general a productive World Food Day 2005.  To all our beloved citizens and visitors, I wish you a fun-filled day, as you join the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and its Staff, our farmers and fishers and the international community in celebrating World Food Day 2005.  Continue to support and promote local agriculture. It’s our future!!    I thank you.