If Barbados and other CARICOM countries want to achieve regional food security, they need to provide more clarity so that private investors can pump more money into the effort.
That is the view of the Dr Patrick Antoine chief executive officer of the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation, who identified the need for “some shifts in our institutions and greater emphasis on commercial infrastructure, and on mobilising private capital”.
He was speaking during the recent launch of the 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) 2026, which is scheduled to be held in Jamaica from September 27 to October 2 under the theme The New F.A.C.E Of Caribbean Food Systems.
“Private capital feeds on clarity. It feeds on structure. Attracting private sector investment into agriculture and food systems, requires that the investment opportunities are well defined, and the investment environment credible,” Antoine said.
“This requires an even greater shift from broad appeals to precise investment business cases – targeted value chains, defined processing opportunities, and clear logistics and technology support where the needs exist, viable market pathways, and a realistic view of what motivates to farmers, if not high returns to capital.”
Speaking in the context of the second phase of CARICOM’s 25 by 2025 initiative to reduce extra-regional food imports, he added: “Only with that clarity will investors – domestic, regional, or international – feel confident to commit even more in phase two than the commitments undertaken in phase one.”
His hope was that CWA 2026 would “serve as a regional accountability and action mechanism – a space in which the region can engage in evidence-based and dispassionate assessment of the true status of the extra-regional food import reduction agenda, identifying gaps and transforming the opportunities which still exist into bankable, measurable wins for our Community”. (SC)
