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CARICOM looking for feedback on regional transportation in two months
Regional food security…
Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is looking for feedback regarding regional transportation for the movement of people and goods in two months as the bloc hurriedly moves to improve its food security abilities and reduce its food importation bill by 25 percent by 2025.
Recognizing that the lack of adequate regional transportation by sea and air is an obstacle to the transportation of food within the region, and determined that the matter should be overcome within the shortest possible time frame, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, together with the Heads of Government in the quasi-Cabinet responsible for Transport and Agriculture, have been requested to complete a proposal for establishing adequate and sustainable regional transportation.
An outcome document following the three day Agri-Investment forum and Expo said that after consultations with the Caribbean private sector, the international donor community and multilateral development agencies, the proposal will be brought to Heads of Government in July for consideration.
“In making this recommendation, the Group was heartened by the advice of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) that it is willing to use its best efforts to mobilise resources in this effort.” The matter of improved transportation and connectivity had been one of grave concern during the Expo. The CARICOM Heads of Government called on investors to allocate funding to transport goods throughout the Community. Premier of Montserrat, Joseph Farrell had rallied investors to support the acquisition of “at least two ships, one going north and one going south, so that we can move our products from one country to the next.”
Prime Minister Keith Rowley had also referred to the multipurpose vessels that were donated in the era of the West Indies Federation by the Government of Canada to the Region, and told investors: “If you really want to help CARICOM …, one of the best things that you could do is to help the team of governments to fund and have operating, within the CARICOM Region, vessels of that nature so as to bring our people together by seas…It has been done; it needs to be done. Goods and services by sea after by rail is always the cheapest,’’ Dr. Rowley asserted.
For Prime Minster Gaston Browne, he said it is imperative to find the means to “move our goods”, as he pointed out that it was easier to ship goods from Miami than within the Region. “If we don’t have transportation then all our efforts would be in vain… In this regard, reliable transportation by sea and by air is imperative and urgently requires attention. It is imperative and urgently demands attention,” he said. Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Chester Cooper also threw out the challenge for the Caribbean to develop a strategic plan that targets logistical transport and connectivity issues.
The CDB has noted that on the heels of a regional discussion in Guyana on food security and CARICOM’s commitment to reduce Member States’ food import bill by 25 percent by 2025, the institution has assembled a team of experts and stakeholders to examine strategies for transforming the agri-food sector, with an emphasis on improving cross border trade. CDB Vice President of Operations Isaac Solomon who will be speaking at a Food security seminar that will kick start the bank’s 52nd Annual Meeting said that, “The flow of goods in the Caribbean remains hamstrung by an inadequate logistics ecosystem while countries continue to encounter challenges related to infrastructure and activities along the value chain. The region’s private sector, which is comprised primarily of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), is faced with constrained access and limited penetration of markets within and beyond CARICOM”, he stated. It was said that the bank will influence, shape and formulate solutions with the input of regional and global expertise during the dialogue.
Next week, June 1, representatives of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the private and public sector will convene to identify opportunities for unlocking regional markets for agri-food MSMEs.
Guyana and Trinidad are just two nations that have already cemented intent to improve its transport capabilities in trade. The neighbouring nations, just days ago, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to experiment with cargo, plus ferry facilities that will make moving people, goods and services easier.
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