COVID-19 Archives - Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) 2021

Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2021 promises to be unique, game-changing

agriculture, COVID-19, Food Security, Food Systems, News, Uncategorized agriculture, Caribbean Week of Agriculture, CWA, food, Shaun Baugh

Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) scheduled for 4-8 October, promises to be a unique, game-changing event, according to Shaun Baugh, Programme Manager, Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development at the CARICOM Secretariat.

‘Transforming our food systems’ is the theme of the week of activities that reflects the food systems thrust that the world is now undertaking, given the current challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Baugh, who is the coordinator of the event, is warning that if we are not careful, we run the risk of moving from a health crisis to a food security crisis. To stave off such an eventuality, some of the activities of the CWA will focus on new ways of propagation, the use of climate smart technologies, new irrigation methods, and a showcase of the use and versatility of the Region’s foods.

The main collaborating agencies for the event are the CARICOM Secretariat, the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Regional institution such as the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism CRFM) and the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) will also be involved.

Q&A: UN Food Systems Summit Opportunity for World to Unite on Healthy, Fair, Sustainable Food Systems

Climate change, COVID-19, Food Security, Food Systems, News, Sustainable Development Goals COVID-19 pandemic, diet, food systems, food systems summit, healthy foods

**Food systems, from farm to fork to disposal, account for 21-37% of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Fresh produce at a supermarket. (Photo via Alison Kentish/IPS**

(InterPress Service) Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended every sphere of life, the world was lagging on a goal to end hunger by 2030. According to the United Nations, more than 820 million people had already been categorised as food insecure, meaning they lacked access to reliable and sufficient amounts of affordable, healthy food.

The impact of measures to contain the virus, land degradation, climate change and the global extreme poverty rate rising for the first time in over 20 years, make the need for a transition to sustainable food systems more important than ever.

The United Nations Food Systems Summit hopes to bring together the science, finance and political commitment to transform global food systems. The goal is to introduce systems that are productive, environmentally sustainable, include the poor and promote healthy diets.

The Barilla Centre For Food and Nutrition (BCFN) Foundation, a longstanding investor in research, education and high-level events on sustainable food systems has been actively involved in activities in the lead-up to the summit.

IPS interviewed the think tank’s Head of Research Dr Marta Antonelli and dietician Katarzyna Dembska about climate change and diets, successful food systems and the Foundation’s own initiatives to improve education, science and skills for healthy, fair and sustainable food systems.

CWA 2021 set for October

Climate change, COVID-19, Food Security, Food Systems, News, Opinion, Uncategorized agriculture, Caribbean Week of Agriculture, climate change, CWA, food security, food systems, trade

Caribbean Week of Agriculture will be held 4-8 October this year.

Activities during the premier event on the Region’s agriculture calendar will focus on the theme ‘Transforming our food systems’.

The week of activities will be done virtually this year as the region continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. CWA was last held in 2018 in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Preparations are underway for holding the events that will include a marketplace, statutory meetings of regional agriculture organisations, and a Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). There will also be webinars which will place the spotlight on creating resilience in the sector; rebounding from the pandemic; food security; climate change and enhancing intra-regional trade.