Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud

Persaud, during a World Food Day activity here, said it is very worrying that the region through its actions and policies seems to prefer importing food rather than using locally grown produce.

“It is my opinion that such problems have arisen in the Caribbean region because we, as a people, have moved away from our traditional nutritious foods and have embraced a lifestyle, including the foods, subtly suggested to us through a blitz of TV advertising,” Persaud said.

“In the process, the CARICOM region spends more than US$3.5 billion in extra regional food imports, and deprives our farmers and food processors of a commensurate amount of benefit,” the minister said.

“If the policymakers and people of our region return to the foods that we can produce ourselves, regional food security and food nutrition security could once more be restored. Guyana stands ready to play its part in ensuring that the world can achieve food security in times of crisis,” Persaud said.

He added that since Guyana had been successful in meeting the food demand locally, the aim at this time is to assist the region in satisfying its food needs.

Meanwhile, Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) resident representative, read a message by the FAO Director- General Jacques Diouf which indicated that the recent increase in hunger had not been the consequence of a poor global harvest, but was caused by the world economic crisis, which has reduced incomes and employment opportunities of the poor and significantly

World Food Day was observed under the theme: “Achieving Food Security in Time of Crisis.”

Sustainable Development Specialist at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Elizabeth Emanuel (left), speaks about the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan at a JIS Think Tank held on September 1 at the agency’s head office in Kingston. PIOJ Economic Specialist, Richard Lumsden (centre), and Social Sector Specialist, Charles Clayton, listen.

Economic Specialist at the PIOJ, Richard Lumsden, speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday said that the Prime Minister, in his budget presentation in May, tabled the Vision 2030 Jamaica Plan and the medium-term framework, which is one of the mechanisms for operationalising and implementing the plan.

“The plan is now at the stage of implementation. Now what we are looking at is ensuring that we set up an effective framework for implementation, monitoring and evaluation going forward,” he said.

Lumsden informed that there is a technical monitoring committee, made up of senior members of government, which will have the operational responsibility for guiding the implementation of the plan.

In addition, he said, “there is a technical secretariat that provides supporting services to the ministries and their agencies and departments as it is through their corporate plans, budget and operational plans that the implementation will take place”.

“We also have thematic working groups, which we are now establishing, which are multi-stakeholder bodies that will ensure that the wider society has a role in monitoring and making an input into the implementation of the plan,” he noted further.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development plan is based on a vision to make Jamaica “the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business” by the year 2030. It is built on four strategic goals that are connected to 15 national outcomes, which will be driven by established national strategies.

The national outcomes reflect the desired changes in development conditions and when accomplished, lead to the achievement of the national goals.

The four goals of the plan are to: empower Jamaicans to achieve their fullest potential; create a safe, cohesive and just society; achieve a prosperous economy; and ensure a healthy natural environment.

Outcomes for these goals include world-class education and training; effective governance and security; internationally competitive industry structures; and sustainable management and use of environmental resources.

Lumsden informed that the goals, national outcomes and strategies were arrived at after extensive consultations across the island.

“This is a national plan; it’s not a plan of the Government or the PIOJ, it is a plan of the people,” he stated, adding that “people from all walks of life participated in developing the plan and its content is reflective of a wide cross section of stakeholders from government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and the man in the street”.

The development of Vision 2030 Jamaica was guided by 31 sector plans, which were developed by task forces that were established during the planning process. These task forces comprised representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society for particular areas such as health, education, energy, environment, and manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Sustainable Development Specialist at the PIOJ, Elizabeth Emanuel, who also spoke at the Think Tank, stated that the integrated nature of the plan will aid in its effective implementation.

“We have broken up this 21-year plan into three year cycles, which we refer to as our medium-term frameworks (MTF). So every three years, we are going to look at the priority areas that we are going to implement for the next three years,” she explained, noting that the first MTF is for 2009 to 2012.

The ministries and their agencies, along with NGOs and the private sector, will determine each MTF, based on the selection of priorities, given the realities in any period.

“So any particular ministry implementing a programme, that programme would in a sense be connected to a national strategy, national outcome, and a national goal…so we basically see how everybody’s role in society is connected in some way to the overarching plan and it really ensures the participation of the entire Jamaica in the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica,” Ms. Emanuel stated.

To ensure accountability, presentations and reports will be made on a yearly basis to Parliament and the people of Jamaica to provide updates on the progress of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

The evaluation and the results, Emanuel informed, “will feed into the development of the next MTF, so over the entire period to 2030, we are expected to have seven MTFs developed to really operationalise and ensure the effective implementation of the plan”.   Reads : 37 ]]> http://sustainablecaribbean.com/2009/09/jamaica-vision-2030-plan-ready-to-be-implemented/feed/ 0 http://sustainablecaribbean.com/2009/08/st-lucia-tells-the-un-economic-and-social-council-of-the-impact-of-globalization-on-caribbean-society/ http://sustainablecaribbean.com/2009/08/st-lucia-tells-the-un-economic-and-social-council-of-the-impact-of-globalization-on-caribbean-society/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:07:15 +0000 admin http://sustainablecaribbean.com/?p=62

07/08/2009

 

Donatus St.Aimee 

In Geneva, the Economic and Social Council working in the context of its agenda item on social and human rights questions, considered issues relating to social development, crime prevention and criminal justice, narcotic drugs, human rights, and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In a statement, St. Lucia’s ambassador Donatus St. Aimee said one of the least considered aspects of globalization was its influence on socialization processes and institutions that focused on preventative measures rather than punitive measures in terms of societal norms.

The economic union to be launched among the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States will not counter CARICOM

Caribbean community 

St. Lucia’s ambassador with responsibility for the OECS, CARICOM and Diaspora Affairs, Dr. June Soomer, says the OECS Economic Union to be launched in July next year will not counter Caribbean Community (CARICOM) efforts to unite the region. According to the OECS Secretariat, the rationale for the establishment of an economic union is the development challenges that the small states of the OECS face as a result of globalization and trade liberalization, which can only be countered by the creation of a single economic space which allows the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, leading to economic diversification and growth, greater export competitiveness and more employment and human resource development. As a foundation for the development, the OECS already has a common currency.

 

Barbados calls for a re-evaluation of the criteria used to graduate middle income developing countries

 

The global financial crisis has clearly exposed the need for an urgent re-evaluation of the criteria use by the International Financial institutions to graduate middle income developing countries from access to concessionary financing. That’s what Barbados’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Darcy Boyce, told a UN conference on the world financial crisis and its impact on development. Minister Boyce said while the Caribbean Community has not been passive in its response to the crisis, the region’s lack of fiscal space has prevented it from engaging in more aggressive and sustained countercyclical measures.

 

The UN climate chief sees a strong desire to act on the issue of climate change

 

Yvo de Boer 

It’s five months to go before member states of the international community gather in Copenhagen to try and seal the deal on a new climate change treaty. Recently, Donn Bobb had the opportunity to speak with UN climate chief Yvo de Boer and first asked him what’s the current situation.

 

 

 

Producers: Dianne Penn and Donn Bobb
Duration: 14′53″