Above: OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin (OAS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Organization of American States Secretary General Albert Ramdin is urging reforms in agriculture in the Caribbean, citing the issue of food security in the region.

Ramdin proposed increased public partnerships and a “renewed focus on research and development” during an address to a food security conference in Barbados last week.

The Caribbean region’s food import bill is now over $4 billion, Ramdin said, pointing to an issue raised at nearly every OAS summit and assembly.

“Five years ago we identified key challenges: the lack of entrepreneurship and investment, aging farmers, severe weather events and antiquated practices, but I am not sure we’ve acted enough to correct it,” he said. “Five years later, many of us are in the same position.”

He called the regional situation “worrisome.”

“The reality is that we simply do not have direct control over a significant percentage of our food supply, and we are increasingly vulnerable to every change or disruption in external production,” he said.

The ASG called on governments to “reinvest” in research and development institutions, as a way to help rebuild agricultural traditions.

“We must be consistent in our efforts, ensuring there is a second generation of creative, technologically advanced farmers, or growers,” he said.