PowerPoint Presentation

Strengthening Food Systems in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to Achieve Food and Nutrition Security

Leroy E. Phillip Associate Professor (retired), McGill University

Presentation Outline

1. Food & Nutrition Security: Concept and Indicators

2. Food & Nutrition Security Vulnerabilities in the OECS o Vulnerabilities to shocks o Availability and import of food o Dietary patterns and health impacts o Socio-economic implications

3. Rebalancing and Strengthening OECS Food Systems

4. Conclusions

1 Food & Nutrition Security: Concept and Indicators

Food & Nutrition Security: What is it?

“Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties.” 1

Food Security exists: “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life ”

1. UN - Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger - 1974 World Food Conference 2. The World Food Summit 1996 Statement- FAO Policy Brief 2016).

Food & Nutrition Security: Why does it matter?

Nutrition and Health • Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) has evolved to encompass the interrelationship between food, nutrition, and health. 1

Sustainability • FNS is an issue of Sustainable Food Production and Consumption and cuts across at least 4 of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (#1, #2, #3, #13).

1. Pangaribowo et al. 2013`

Description of Food and Nutrition Security Indicators

Indicator

Description

Anthropometric indicators

Stunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weight-for height), as indicators of nutritional status at the individual level, especially for children under five years old;

Poverty and Hunger Index

A multidimensional indicator linked to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but whose reliability and utility seem to be in doubt;

Global Food Security Index Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) Diet Diversity Score (DDS)

A measure of the risks of food insecurity based on food availability, affordability, quality, and safety

A metric of severity of food insecurity at the household or individual level that relies on people’s direct yes/no responses to eight brief questions regarding their access to adequate food (FAO).

Represents the number of different foods or food groups consumed over a given reference period.

Source: (Pangaribowo et al. 2013)

Prevalence (%) of food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean (FAO FIES scale)

Southern Core

Andean States

Food Insecurity

Severe Food Insecurity

Central America

The Caribbean

0

1

2

3

4

5

Source: Smith et al. 2017; Food Policy, 71: 48-61

2 Food & Nutrition Security Vulnerabilities in the OECS

Caribbean Vulnerabilities to Shocks

Climate Change Impacts • Hurricane-related damage: 1980 to 2004 (CDEMA 1 ) o US$157 million: damage to ag. sectors- 5 extreme events- Dominica; Grenada; St. Kitts & Nevis; St. Lucia o US$36 million: crop damage- Grenada o US$75 million: agriculture and housing (Allen and Debbie) in St. Lucia o US$35 million: damage to sugar industry (1995) in St. Kitts • Cost of inaction on GHG (Rhiney, 2015) :

US$ 303M

o ~ US$22 billion/yr by 2050 (10 % of GDP) o ~ US$46 billion/yr 2100 (22% of GDP)

COVID-19 impacts • 57% female, 6O% of male respondents maintained normal eating patterns during COVID-19 • 20 % ate less preferred foods; 17 % skipped meals or ate less than usual;

1 The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

Caribbean Food Imports

Over 80% of food in the Caribbean is imported, mainly extra-regionally (FAO). Data includes food imports to Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.

Source: UN WFP- Caribbean COVID-19 Food Security & Livelihoods Impact Survey Report, April 2020

Global Sales of Ultra — processed food and drink products (2002-2016)

Vandevijvere et. al. (2019)

Limited availability of vegetables for consumption in St. Kitts-Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Contribution of Vegetable to Total Energy compared with Population Goals St. Kitts and Nevis (1961-2013)

Contribution of Vegetable to Total Energy compared with Population Goals St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1961-2013)

Imported

Local

Goal

(Source: F. Henry; unpublished; pers. comm.)

Health Impact in OECS Countries

Probability of dying between 30-70 years due to NCD (%) 1

% Childhood (6 -12 yr old) obesity 2

% Children ( 6 - 12 y old) overweight & obese 2

Data Year

2016

2018

2018

Antigua & Barbuda

22.6

16.2

53.8

Dominica

n/a

15.6

60.1

Grenada

21.4

15.0

43.0

St. Kitts & Nevis

n/a

15.5

55.0

St. Lucia

18.8

14.3

45.3

St. Vincent & the Grenadines

23.2

16.7

50.7

Canada

9.8

--

--

1 (PAHO/WHO) NCDs in the Region of the Americas -Facts and Figures 2 Rambaran et al. ( 2020)

Percentage of Respondents in St. Kitts and Nevis perceiving themselves as “eating healthy” vs “unhealthy”

Source: HEU, Centre for Health Economics, The University of the West Indies. Unpublished, 2020. FaN Project

Socio-economic Implications of Food & Nutrition Insecurity

Bokeloh et al. (2009), citing World Bank: Every 1$ US invested in nutrition programme, a gain of 0.9 to 84 US $ through increased remuneration and decreased incapacity to work.

Theodore et al. (2016) (UWI): • NCDs cost the Caribbean 1.4 to 8% of GDP, • In 10 Caribbean countries in 2003:

o Among persons 40 yr, 21,206 potential years of life lost due to diabetes o Foregone future earnings of US$145 million

3 Rebalancing and Strengthening OECS Food Systems

Performance Indicators: Agriculture & Fisheries Sectors

Government spending on agriculture (% of GDP) 2

Fisheries sector contribution to GDP (%) 3

Agriculture Value added (% of GDP) 1

Data year

2019

2017

2016

2018

Antigua & Barbuda

1.79

0.54

0.90

0.95

Dominica

13.45

2.36

1.80

0.40

Grenada

5.37

1.01

0.37

1.16

St. Kitts & Nevis

1.11

0.46

0.50

0.51

St. Lucia

1.49

0.89

0.94

0.55

St. Vincent & the Grenadines

6.93

1.06

1.26

0.60

1 Source: FAO-Aquastat -2017 3 Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (2018) 2 Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Approaches to Strengthening OECS Food Systems

1 Consumer awareness of the food-health connection

2 Gender equity, Youth and stakeholder engagement

3 Diversify and shorten food supply chain

4 Public and private sector alignment

5 Investment- bias towards climate-resilient food systems

6 Nutrition- sensitive value chains

Capacity Building

• Gender Equity- women in leadership (International Labour Organization 2018 Report) • Human and Social Capital- peer-to-peer learning

• Data & Knowledge sharing and translation • Collaboration/Partnerships- trust building • Collective action

Case Study in St. Kitts : School Meals Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chain (Farm-to-Fork)

MODEL Building

Measuring post- harvest losses

Drip irrigation

School lunch

Skills training: Meal preparation

Nutrition Sensitive Value Chains – Farm to Fork Approach

Technology & Training

Drip irrigation/green house prod’n . Post harvest quality & food safety

• • • •

Forage conservation Environmental quality

Objective Improved child nutrition and health

Food Delivery Systems • Produce procurement • School lunch meals •

Kitchen infrastructure & HAACP

Menu design , diet quality

• •

Personnel training

Gov’t & Community Support • Agriculture, Education, Health • Community engagement (workshops and media ) • Regional partnerships

Meeting Produce Needs for School Lunch Meals in St. Kitts

Lowitt et al. 2018

Communities of Practice 1 in a Value Chain

1 Communities of practice are “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2006).

4 Conclusion

Conclusions • Obesity and NCDs, linked to import and consumption of ultra-processed and processed foods, represent the principal food and nutrition security challenge for OECS, with important socio-economic implications; • Consumer awareness of the food-health connection, disincentivizing unhealthy foods, and incentivizing local production and access to healthy foods (e.g. vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish) could contribute to rebalancing & strengthening of OECS food systems to respond to health and environmental threats; • School settings, policy coordination and cross-sectoral collaboration represent significant leverage points to improve healthy eating and food and nutrition security in OECS; • Enhanced knowledge sharing and skills training in food, nutrition and health systems could contribute to capacity building to protect human and environmental health in OECS

Acknowledgements

• Collaborating colleagues at McGill University, UWI-three main campuses; the University of Technology, Jamaica, the University of Cambridge, CARDI and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

• Documents sourcing and conversations: colleagues at PAHO, FAO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CFRM), Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and St. Lucia Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives

• Gordon Hickey; Kristen Lowitt; Edsel Phillip

Thank you!