Food Security Not So Secure

Details

Economy

Thursday, 14 June 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John’s - With a production level of over 70 per cent versus overall consumption, Antigua & Barbuda is well on its way to attaining 100 per cent food security.

But Technical Agricultural Officer in charge of food production and farming Owalabi Elobanjo fears that local farmers will soon have no choice but to scale down their production level and make way for foreign imports.

Elobanjo told Caribarena on Wednesday that Antiguans and Barbudians are simply not buying the local produce, despite prices being lower than those throughout the OECS and the wider CARICOM.

“We have enough food but the problem we are having now in terms of the security is that the consumption part could be greater. Locals are not buying local,” Elobanjo said.

He explained that consumers continue to gravitate more towards fast food instead of buying fresh vegetables to cook at home. And this is an issue he believes the country’s social scientists should examine closely.

“We have everything. All what can be produced in Antigua is being produced but the consumption pattern is very, very low,” he said, pointing out that the average Antiguan home buys a mere one pound of vegetables per week, with most homes only cooking once a week.

As a result of the low consumption level, farmers are being forced to discard more than they sell and the Agriculture Ministry is already receiving indications that the farmers may soon move to produce less.

"We are very much afraid because we don't want the farmers to cut back on food production because they are throwing away more food than they can sell," Elobanjo said.

This move could once again make way for a rise in food imports, which will ultimately result in higher prices and a rise in health complications resulting from processed foods – a fear that weighs heavily on the nation’s health system.

“Some farmers throw away 60 per cent of what they produce,” Elobanjo said. "We are going to have shortage of food in Antigua and that will give more room for people who want to import food. Everybody needs to work together if we want food security. This is not only about producing food; it is about utilising it in a proper way.”

Presently, Antigua stands as number one in the backyard gardening programme in the OECS and the rest of the CARICOM. This means farmers can produce even more for local consumption and even export than the 70 per cent produced today.

Charlesworth Davis - Consultant and Senior Technical Officer in the Ministry of Lands, explained recently that there is a noticeable rise in applications, particularly from young Antiguans, to secure plots of government land for agricultural purposes.

"My gospel now to most people in Antigua is to support the local farmers and consume local. Your health comes first and you can only attain a better health if you cook proper food for yourself at home. That is what we are campaigning on now,” Elobanjo said.

To this end, he revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the ministries of Health and Education and the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS), would soon launch a campaign to sensitize the general public on the benefits of home cooking and local consumption.

He said MBS has joined the cause due to the noticeably high number of health cases resulting from fast food consumption.

Elobanjo also revealed that, for the first in a long time, there is no scarcity of anything in Antigua, and everything that can be grown is being produced and is available to the general public.

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