Agriculture Alliance of the Caribbean 

Errington Thompson  

President of Agriculture Alliance of the Caribbean (AACARI) 

It is my great honor to greet you on behalf of Agriculture Alliance of the Caribbean (AACARI) and all our strategic partners & organizations from our Region.  

I am delighted to represent the many men, women, youth and disabled persons who make the business of food production and food security their passion.   

The Theme for CWA 2024 “Climate Smart Agriculture for a Sustainable Future” is very much in line with AACARI’s 2,000,000 Trees, Plants & Shrubs Planting Initiative.  

This initiative incorporates Climate-Smart Agriculture and Agroecology to achieve Food & Nutrition Security in the Caribbean Region.  

This is done while utilizing a Sustainable Comprehensive Agriculture & Resilient Food Production System through Smallholder Farms, Community Gardens & Backyard Farms.  

We refer to this as our regional farmers’ approach to Climate Action, Food Sovereignty and the preservation of Biodiversity. 

AACARI will engage regional partners while AACARI’s Local Chapters will coordinate efforts at the national level and will partner with government ministries of agriculture, education, social services, forestry, environment, marine resources and culture to assist them with any related project and to engage them as partners in the Tree Planting Initiative.  

Climate Change, on the other hand, is an existential threat to all Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and our region has seen our share of devastation.  

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted an 85% chance of an above-normal hurricane season with 17 – 25 total named storms.  

To add insult to injury, the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) recently identified and ranked 30 countries of the world that will most likely survive climate change.  

Guess who were excluded from that list: all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, all countries from the continent of Africa, all countries of the Pacific Islands and most countries from Asia. 

Global warming and Climate change have had and will continue to have an economic, social and environmental impact on every country but more so on the Islands of the Caribbean.  

Let us hope and pray during the G-7 meeting presently underway in Italy that Climate Change is on the agenda. Let us hope and pray that at COP 29 in November there will be a resolution regarding Loss and Damage. 

Caribbean Regional Farmers in conjunction with other Stakeholders have issued a “Call to Action”. We must do our part. We must make a serious and intentional attempt towards finding a solution to climate action and subsequently food sovereignty.    

Farmers have concluded that they must figure out how to work together. Farmers caution other farmers and food producers that working in silos have not provided the results.   

The clarion call from Farmers and food producers is, let’s get together. Let’s communicate, let’s collaborate and let’s cooperate. Let’s combine expertise, knowledge and resources for the good of all.  

So today we wish to reiterate our commitment to and support for CARICOM, IICA, FAO and all regional governments including Guyana and St. Vincent &the Grenadines, who are represented here today, as we extend our hearts and hands in solidarity to bring about the results we all truly desire for our region.  

Together we are stronger.  

We are motivated to embark on this Tree Planting Initiative to build capacity in food production in response to our personal circumstances and to help with CARICOM’s mandate to reduce food imports by 25% by 2025. 

We are convinced that our efforts must be sustainable because our region is committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 2030 is less than six years away. 

In closing we wish to make a few suggestions or  recommendations:  

1. Our region must improve our data collection and establish baselines for every aspect of food production and agriculture. 

2. Many Farmers are struggling and in need of support – Financial and otherwise. Many have suffered devastating losses from hurricanes, rising sea levels, drought and intense forest fires.  

3. In most countries praedial larceny is a major reason why farmers are unable to make ends meet. We must pass specific laws to apprehend and punish perpetrators.  

4. We must develop a system to assist farmers with their water needs and irrigation methods. These would allow farmers to improve their yield and income. 

5. There is a need to strengthen the supply chain.  

6. There is a need to strengthen the  value addition chain. 

7. There must be a sharing of best practices across the region. 

8. We must move with haste to develop two-way inter island trade. 

9. We must establish Model farms with training facilities to build capacity in the circular economy.  

The time to solve our problems is now.   

This time must be our clarion call for a “Commitment to Action”.  

We must act now and act fast!  

In Humility, I Thank You