Hey #Yugen Community! It’s T-2 days till our Webinar!🎉 Are you excited? Let me know in the comments below :)
Today’s forum topic is sort of a precursor to Thursday’s webinar as we would be discussing the topic of Caribbean Food Security in this time of Covid-19. Also, if you haven’t signed up for our webinar, you can do so at the link below 😊
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoab7L3NoY1een7rGejme7wuzpildZ-zZXE2xATkqxAkk82Q/viewform
So back to our topic lol. Food security in the region has been a topic of discussion for many years and this year, this topic has resurfaced once again but with greater importance due to the current global pandemic as well as the increasing negative effects of climate change. Now you may be wondering, what exactly is food security?
The International Food Policy Research Institute defines food security as when, “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.”
In the case of the Caribbean, the region as a whole has a significantly high food import bill meaning that we are heavily dependent on international suppliers for our food items, making us vulnerable to economic shocks and volatile food prices on the international market.
In this time of Covid-19, our food security is further threatened due to increasing unemployment rates (as many persons in Caribbean societies have lost their jobs) which thereby affects their ability to purchase sufficient and nutritious foods for themselves and their families.
Also, from a macroeconomic perspective, many of the islands have suffered significant economic losses due to the drastic decrease in tourism (for the islands dependent on it as the main source of revenue) and also due to a decrease in the exportation of raw materials such as oil and natural gas. This thereby impacts upon the ability of governments to purchase sufficient food to meet the needs of all of their citizens.
This is one of the major impacts that this pandemic has had on the region’s food security. So tell me, what do you think that you can do to mitigate against the negative impacts on our food security? And also, what do you hope to learn about in Thursday’s webinar on this topic?
Looking forward to your responses and don’t forget to sign up! 😊
-Daniella K.