Government to update Food & Nutrition Policy, says Charles Jr

Government will be updating the country’s Food & Nutrition Policy as well as launch a major thrust through its ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ strategy in an effort to help boost consumption of its locally grown nutritious food while reducing Jamaica’s high food import bill.

This announcement was made by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, as he outlined several strategies to the implemented to transform Jamaica’s food systems and ensure food security.

 “We note the health challenges being faced by a significant percentage of our Jamaican populace, with data indicating that 25 per cent of Jamaicans are suffering from at least one chronic disease and increased obesity rates among adults, which have doubled among children between the years 2010 and 2017,” said Charles Jr.

He also identified Jamaica’s exposure to natural disasters as well as the high level of food loss and waste and the conflict in Europe as challenges which expose the vulnerability of Jamaica’s food systems to external shocks.

To combat these challenges, Charles Jr said a wheat flour substitution programme will be launched, with support from the Government of Cuba, targeting breadfruit and cassava to create gluten-free flour as a healthy alternative to wheat.

With funding from the FAO, a Food Loss and Waste Reduction programme will be implemented, using a value-chain approach to transform food systems, in addition to the $186-million Agri-Business Cold Chain project that is being implemented.

The Agriculture and Fisheries minister was speaking at the handover ceremony of the Food Systems Profile for Jamaica by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, held at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices in St. Andrew on July 6, 2022.

Jamaica is among 50 countries that participated in the food assessment survey conducted by the FAO in partnership with the European Union and CIRAD. Among the recommendations identified for increasing Jamaica’s food systems are improving consumer knowledge of nutrition and food labelling; increasing participation of marginalised groups in food systems by improving their access to land, finance and training as well as providing incentives to increase access to climate-smart technologies for small farmers and producers.

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