World Food Forum 2022 in Rome Highlights Urgent Need for Sustainable Agricultural Investments

The optics could not be more impressive. In Rome, a high-level ceremony at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters kicked off the fourth edition of the World Food Forum (WFF), the largest annual gathering of agrifood systems stakeholders globally.

In a video message, Mia Mottley joined a long list of presidents and premiers, from Cuba to Peru, Lesotho to Liberia, at an event to forge new pathways for a sustainable, inclusive, and food-secure future.

In front of global experts, influencers, investors, and change agents, the Prime Minister of Barbados was, as usual, forceful. She said that this year’s World Food Day theme, Right to Food for a Better Life and a Better Future, resonates with the Caribbean, where the high costs of healthy diets demand urgent action.

Mottley called for sustainable investments in agriculture and water management to enhance food security, emphasising the importance of innovation and collaboration in transforming agrifood systems. She pointed out that the Caribbean is reportedly the most expensive place for healthy food.

The optics are poignant. On this very day, a renowned surgeon and warrior against non-communicable diseases was being honoured. Access to healthy, nutritious food is key to disease prevention, but on this day, the Senior Minister of Health and Wellness, another surgeon, showed intent to reform the primary healthcare system to combat NCDs.

Yet, these powerful images—a strident Prime Minister, an iconic medic, and a minister intent on changing the face of healthcare in the face of a relentless epidemic of lifestyle diseases—all paraded on the television screens of the nightly news programme of the state television station, send one message.

We are aware of another, more ominous message: posters advertising the sale of prime agricultural lands for residential development—a troubling trend that warns of a nation’s increasing inability to feed itself, warranting urgent scrutiny.

This shift, primarily driven by sugar planters divesting from their vast tracts of fertile land—particularly in areas like Constant, St George, and Newton, Christ Church—represents not only a cowardly exit strategy after 300 years of agricultural dominance but also poses significant risks to our food security and sovereignty.

The sugar industry is no longer the backbone of Barbados’ economy. We are not pining for a return to its primacy. What we are now witnessing is a retreat that raises serious questions about the future of agricultural production on the island. The land being sold is not merely real estate; it is some of the most fertile soil available, actively cultivated and essential for sustaining local food production. As these lands are converted into residential developments, we face a dual crisis: the erosion of our agricultural capabilities and an increasing reliance on imported food at a time when global supply chains are under strain.