The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is intensifying efforts to reduce the region’s reliance on imported food, with officials renewing a commitment to cut the regional food import bill by 25 percent by 2030.
Acting CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General Dr. Wendell Samuel said the region’s food-security initiative has moved beyond its original target and is producing measurable results. He recently spoke at the opening of the 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture in Trelawny, Jamaica.
- Advertisement -
Samuel said more than 60 percent of the food consumed in the Caribbean is imported, while some CARICOM member states depend on imports for more than 80 percent of their food needs. Between 2018 and 2020, the region’s food import bill reached approximately US$13.7 billion, equivalent to about 15 percent of regional gross domestic product, according to CARICOM.
He said the heavy dependence on imported food represents a significant drain on the region’s foreign exchange and economic resilience, particularly in the face of global supply-chain disruptions, climate-related shocks, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic, he noted, exposed the vulnerabilities created by relying heavily on external food supplies.
CARICOM’s Vision 25 by 2025 initiative was originally established to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 percent by the end of 2025. In February 2025, regional leaders extended the programme to 2030 under Vision 25 by 2025+5, while broadening its focus to include resilience, technology, investment, intra-regional trade, employment and nutrition.
Samuel said regional food production increased by approximately 24 percent between 2022 and 2024, alongside greater investment in farm-to-market roads, cold-storage facilities, processing capacity, renewable energy, digital agriculture and climate-smart technologies. He also pointed to increased private-sector financing and investment in the agricultural sector.
The next phase of the initiative is expected to focus on strengthening regional food systems and making it easier to move agricultural products between CARICOM countries. Officials have identified trade barriers, transportation, financing, agricultural insurance and food-safety systems as areas requiring greater attention.
Samuel stressed that governments cannot transform Caribbean agriculture on their own, calling on farmers, fishers, processors, financiers, researchers, private investors and consumers to play a greater role in strengthening the regional food economy.
The renewed push comes as Caribbean countries seek to reduce their exposure to external shocks while creating greater opportunities for regional producers. Under the extended 2030 programme, CARICOM’s objective is not simply to import less food, but to build a more resilient and competitive agricultural sector capable of supplying more of the region’s own needs while expanding intra-regional trade.
