Will Agriculture Save Regional Economies ?
One Caribbean Nation.
Many regional commentators are of the firm opinion, that the
post COVID-19 economies, will have to consider putting the Agriculture industry,
at the forefront of economic planning. While we certainly do not want to engage
in pessimism, we suspect that some who share this view, may be quite optimistic
and are avoiding historical truths.
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| Dr Eric Williams |
The belief that the region should feed itself is nothing new.
Over forty-five years ago, the then
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago addressed the “The Caribbean Food Crisis”
and the need to halt the level of food imports. Williams saw the inability of
the region to deal with the Energy Crisis as directly linked to our failure to
produce more food and create a vibrant regional agricultural sector. His
analysis of the social and economic negatives resulting from the damage that
food imports were creating in regional economies, are as relevant now as they
were almost a half century ago.
In addresses quoted at the end of this article, Williams spoke
of the stigma that young people attached not only to agriculture but to the
actual foods they consumed. Indeed, he spoke of how our eating habits and the preference
over imported food were rationalized. He also showed how the growth of the
tourism industry was influencing food preferences, that were instrumental in
driving imports
Against this background, we are forced to conclude that those
negatives are more severe now than they were a half century ago. Since Williams
spoke, tourism has become the major industry in several islands. Some of these islands,
are now literally bankrupt because the COVID-19, has wiped out the tourist industry,
for what is being hoped would be temporary period.
The stone that the
builder refused (Agriculture) is at present being seen as the new corner stone, in what will be post
COVID-19 regional economies. We can only hope that we do not repeat the errors made
a half century ago.
Reference: Forged from The Love of Liberty
Selected Speeches of Dr Eric Williams
Oil and Food
The Caribbean Food Crisis
Address at the opening ceremony of the Ninth Biennial
Convention of the
Caribbean Veterinary Association 12th August
1974
Opening Address to the Oil and Food Discussion Port of
Spain
6 January 1975
Pages 93-101
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