Transcript Major Characteristics of Caribbean Food Systems: Trade

Major Characteristics of
Caribbean Food Systems:
Trade/Imports; Subsistence; and
Nutrition
Dr. Sharon Hutchinson
On Behalf of Dr. Ranjit Singh
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension,
UWI, St. Augustine
Global Environmental Change and Food Systems
(GECAFS)
First Caribbean Scenarios Meeting
Kingston, Jamaica Sept 1-3 2005
Outline of Presentation
• Definition and conceptual map of food
systems
• Characteristics of Caribbean economis
• Characteristics of Caribbean food systems
• Sources of vulnerability
• Conclusion
Food Systems – A Definition
• Food systems are a set of dynamic interactions
between and within the biophysical and human
environments that result in the production,
processing, distribution, preparation and
consumption of food. (GECAFS – Science Plan and Implementation
Strategy)
• These systems encompass:
– Food availability
– Food access
– Food utilization
Elements of the Food System
Food Availability
• Production
• Distribution
• Exchange
Food Utilization
• Nutritional value
• Social value
• Food safety
Food Access
• Affordability
• Allocation
• Preference
The Food Supply Chain
Imports
Marketing
Intermediaries
Production
Market
Consumers
Overview of Sources of
Vulnerability
Env. Damage/
Climate Change
Imports
+
Infrastructure
Global
Supply
Local
Supply
Global
Demand
Local
Demand
+
Production
Price
Middlemen
Consumers
Real
Income
Country Profile Table - CARICOM
(Physical)
Population, Total (2002)
Surface area
(sq. km.)
76,485
442
Barbados
312,000
431
Dominica
71,079
750
Grenada
102,638
345
Guyana
774,800
214,970
Jamaica
2641600
10,991
46,710
269
St. Lucia
159,133
616
St. Vincent
109,164
389
1,282,447
5,128
Country
Antigua & Barbuda
St. Kitts & Nevis
Trinidad & Tobago
Country GDP and GDP per capita
(2002)
12,000
10,848
10,000
8,000
9,630
8,512
9,461
8,459
7,583
6,000
3,584
4,000
2,000
2,608
724
255
3,926
403
941
729
4,239
3,251
354
3,320
675
362
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GDP (current US mn$)
GDP/capita US$
Country GDP Growth Rates and
Inflation Rates (2002)
20.0
15.0
14.1
10.0
Percentage
7.1
4.1
5.0
2.1
1.5
0.0
0.2
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2.2
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-1.1
0.1
0.8
1.6
0.8
-0.2 -0.1
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Rate of GDP Growth (%)
Inflation Rate (%)
Importance of Agriculture
• Variable by country re: contribution to GDP
• High for the region as a whole (GDP
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contribution)
High employment – directly and indirectly
Dominant in terms of resource use
Main plantation crops:
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Sugar cane
Banana
Rice
coconut
Agriculture Contribution: GDP
and Employment (1991-2002)
45
(2003)
40.4
40
35
Percentage
30
23.1
21
25
20
17.7
24.9
20.8
19.9
13.8
15
14.7
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4.0
5 3.3
9.1
4.2
7.5
4.8
4.8
3.7
11.1
7.8
2.5
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Agriculture, Proportion of GDP in Constant 1990 Market Prices (%)*
Employed Labour Force in Agriculture (%)
CARICOM* Food Trade In The Caribbean
(2001) - % of All Trade
Food
Total
Imports $1,330,361,603
$9,555,072,979
Exports $849,115,113
$5,980,856,678
* Excludes Antigua and Guyana
Production Characteristics –
Dominica Case
• Very small farms on fragmented holdings
(74% of farmers hold < 5 acres)
• 9,026 farm households (1995)
• Like other OECS countries, most of the
land occupied by small farmers is in
mountainous areas of hillside slopes
• Over reliance on a single crop
Production Characteristics –
Dominica Case (2)
• Lack of fertile land
• High transportation costs due to
mountainous terrain
• Poor land tenure
• Low technology systems
Recent Trends in Main Agricultural
Commodities - Bananas
•  export
•  prices
•  employment
•  competition (especially new WTO rules)
Recent Trends in Main Agricultural
Commodities – Sugar Cane
• Significant  in income
• Further 39%  prices (January 2006)
• Already approx. 25%  in income in the
last 4 yrs
•  competition from other sweeteners
Recent Trends in Main Agricultural
Commodities – Coconut
•  competition from Soya bean and corn
oil
•  fears of ill health
•  incidence of disease in crop
Recent Trends in Main Agricultural
Commodities – Rice
• Problems of global oversupply
•  prices
Non-Traditional Commodities?
• Production and exports not impressive
•  exports of three important non-traditional
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exports (mangoes, plantains, root crops)
 production in the poultry sector (esp. Jamaica
and Dominican Republic
Exports of fishery products appear stable
The Caribbean is not seizing opportunities in
non-traditional, more processed food or import
substitutes
A Look At The Components Of Food
Supply
• Own production (backyard/ subsistence
farming)
• Community production
• National production
• Imports (regional and international)
• Food aid
How Can We Categorize Food
Systems?
• Urban
• Rural
– Non-coastal
– Coastal
Characteristics Of Urban Food Subsystem
• Very low/ nil own production
• Very low/ nil community production
• Largely national/ international food
sources
• Driven by consumer income
• Very vulnerable
Characteristics Of Rural (Noncoastal) Food Sub-system
• Income generating activities usually based on:
– Traditional export crops (e.g. sugarcane, bananas)
– Non-traditional commodities
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Low community production of non-market crops
Largely national/ international food sources
Access to food based on wage
Fairly vulnerable
Characteristics Of Rural (Coastal)
Food Sub-system
• Food system highly characterized by fish and other
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seafood resources which account for the major source of
protein
Income generating activities usually based on:
– Seafood production
– Coconut production
Low community production of non-market crops
Largely national/ international food sources
Access to food based on wage
Usually very low mean wages and poor political power
Very vulnerable
Geographical And Socio-economic
Characteristics of SIDS Which Increases
Vulnerability To Climate Change
• Narrow economic base
– Traditional exports and tourism
• Low productivity and production
– Plantation and small rain-fed agriculture
• Economic dependence on larger countries for markets
and investments
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– Imports; loss of trade preferences/ competitiveness; changes in
trade policies; declining prices
Increased pressure on natural resource base
Increased incidence of pockets of poverty
Fragile coastal systems
Growing non-healthy food choices
Poverty
• Approx. 25% of the total population in the
Caribbean (more than 7 mill people), can
be classified as poor (World Bank Poverty Head Count
Index)
• % Population below National Poverty Line
(1989-1994)
– Suriname : 47%
– Guyana : 43%
– Haiti : 60%
Nutrition
• In the last 25-30 yrs, the incidence of energy-
•
protein mal-nutrition and infectious disease has
declined
This has been replaced by non-communicable,
nutrition-related chronic diseases as the major
cause of death
– Obesity
– High blood pressure/ heart disease
– Diabetes
Conclusion
• The food subsystems that rely heavily on
imports will be extremely vulnerable
• Changes in the food system must be
assessed from both a global and localized
perspective.
• In the short run, the erosion of purchasing
power may have the biggest potential to
destabilize Caribbean food systems
Thank You!
Major Characteristics of Caribbean Food
Systems: Trade/Imports; Subsistence; and
Nutrition
Dr. Sharon Hutchinson
On Behalf of Dr. Ranjit Singh
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, UWI,
St. Augustine