Caribbean micro, small and medium-sized businesses, operated by youth and women, are preparing and building capacities to enable them to profit from international and intraregional trade in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic in the Caribbean has brought to light the urgency of moving away from training based on generic concepts, with a business planning and food processing-related focus, towards specialized, applied training, tailored to the current situation.

Rebeca Grynspan, Ibero-American Secretary General (SEGIB), and Cassio Luiselli, member of the Advisory Council for Food Security in the Americas, discussed these scenarios and proposed adequate responses for strengthening cooperation between countries and mitigating the effects of the pandemic.

They noted that, in order to drive economic reactivation and food security in the Latin American and Caribbean region, it will be necessary to capitalize on the potential of multilateralism, maintain the flow of goods, minimize trade barriers, foster production chains with greater value added, improve food marketing and distribution, and strengthen family farming.

The joint OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2020-2029 report finds that over the next ten years supply growth is going to outpace demand growth, causing real prices of most commodities to remain at or below their current levels. Fluctuations in the driving factors of supply and demand could lead to strong price variations around this general path. At the same time, a decrease in disposable incomes in low-income countries and households caused by COVID-19 is expected to depress demand in the early years of this outlook and could further undermine food security.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Central American Program for Integrated Coffee Rust Management (PROCAGICA) collaborated to distribute seeds and inputs to coffee farmers in several districts in Nicaragua, as part of strategic actions to assist in reducing rural vulnerability triggered by Covid-19.

The objective is to reduce vulnerability in two ways: by supporting the production of food with short cycle crops and offering farmers the opportunity to earn income by selling crop surpluses.

Representatives from multilateral organizations were convened to a meeting of the Summit Working Group of the Organization of American States (OAS), in which they analyzed the main repercussions of the global health crisis on the agrifood chain and the measures applied by countries to bridge the ever increasing gaps.

Addressing the virtual meeting, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on food security, value chains and intraregional trade.

“The opinions, knowledge and experience of youth must be taken into account. We must participate in the development of strategies and ensure that any policies implemented are well-targeted, based on our knowledge of limitations and opportunities within the sector, as well as our vision for agriculture”, stated Andrea Paredes, a Guatemalan coffee farmer and the representative for Central America in the forum.

Enhancing the involvement of Latin American and Caribbean rural youth in the political, economic and productive spheres, in efforts to rebuild in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, is the aim of a series of virtual forums, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), beginning on June 12.

The forums will engage youth throughout the region, as part of IICA’s actions to assist in toppling barriers that are restricting this sector’s access to education, technology, employment, production resources, land ownerships and health services, to name a few.

Kremer and the Institute’s Director General, Manuel Otero, will discuss the opportunities available to increase agricultural productivity through the use of digital tools: a fundamental way to support the sector within the context of the current pandemic as well as transform rural areas into areas of progress that generate job opportunities.

"Covid-19 has not only created a health crisis, but also an economic crisis in the long term. For many people, the pandemic is also generating a food security crisis. In the midst of this situation and the emergency measures that have been adopted, we must look ahead and find opportunities to shape the future”, explained.

During a videoconference, representatives of financial institutions, development organizations and donors informed the ministers of funding alternatives and resources available to strengthen agriculture, with special emphasis on food security, resilience, economic recovery, technological innovation, sustainable use of resources and the preservation of biodiversity, among other areas.

The meeting was organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as part of their efforts to strengthen agriculture in the region. 

“Cambiará nuestra preocupación por lo que consumimos y cómo nos relacionamos, al ser más conscientes que ante determinadas circunstancias todos somos iguales”, dijo el ministro uruguayo Carlos María Uriarte. En el ámbito internacional, “seguiremos preocupados por el acceso a los mercados”, en particular por el cierre temporal de China ante la pandemia.

El programa priorizará el apoyo a la sostenibilidad de las MIPYME agropecuarias y su cadena de valor como sostén del empleo frente a la crisis, y con foco en la seguridad alimentaria. De igual forma, el programa también podrá financiar a otros sectores relevantes que hayan sido afectados por la crisis actual.

The President of Cooperatives of the Americas indicated that, “This sector can offer many contributions, for example, inter-cooperation among savings and loan cooperatives that provide financing to farmers’ cooperatives and to individual small farmers to get ahead and to stay afloat in this complex climate. Consumer cooperatives can also assist farming cooperatives to place their products in the market”.

“Prior to Covid-19 technology gaps already existed in the region. Digital tools will be required to restore distribution channels – technologies that improve the efficiency of food production to make better use of agricultural products and surpluses, and others that ensure health, safety, quality and traceability”, said Murano, who is currently the director of the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agricultural of Texas A&M University.

The Special Advisory Commission on Management Issues (SACMI), a special mechanism that advises the General Directorate of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and is comprised of nine member countries, expressed broad, unanimous support for the hemispheric agency’s strategy to overcome the challenges of the pandemic. Among other things, the Institute is strengthening actions to support its member countries as well as implementing austerity and flexibility measures across all of its operations.

The initiative, which is being implemented within the framework of the AGRO-INNOVA project, is geared towards agricultural producers and workers in the field as well as those involved in distribution, transportation, agroindustry operations, supply centers, wholesale markets and local fairs.

La pandemia de neumonía por coronavirus (COVID-19) ha cambiado drásticamente nuestra vida diaria, así como las perspectivas mundiales sobre lo que es importante. Alrededor del mundo las personas aplauden el increíble trabajo y la dedicación de los profesionales de la salud, quienes luchan en el frente de batalla contra esta crisis sanitaria. Sin embargo, como sociedad, hemos prestado atención también al trabajo esencial realizado en silencio por los hombres y las mujeres que a diario siguen poniendo al mundo en marcha: obreros industriales, quienes mantienen la línea de producción en movimiento; empleados de tiendas de comestibles, que colocan la mercadería en los estantes; y los agricultores y ganaderos, quienes trabajan incansablemente para alimentar al mundo.