"The data from Round 8 is not an endpoint; it is a catalyst for region-wide recovery, reform, and resilience.”
Ambassador David Prendergast
Director of Sectoral Programmes, CARICOM Secretariat
Food security remains a top priority across the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, where an estimated 3.2 million people are currently affected. Despite global challenges driving higher costs and limiting access to essential goods, we continue working towards solutions that support resilient communities across our Region.
Being held under the theme “Sowing Change, Harvesting Resilience: Transforming Our Caribbean Food Systems for 2025 and Beyond,” CWA 2025 will be a vital platform for sowing the seeds of change. It will promote the exchange of innovations in climate-smart agriculture, the sharing of lessons learned, and the forging of purposeful partnerships across the Region.
The 19th edition of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) will be launched on Tuesday, 15 July 2025, setting the stage for the event which will be held in St. Kitts and Nevis from 29 September – 3 October. CWA 2025 will be held under the theme ‘Sowing Change, Harvesting Resilience: Transforming Our Caribbean Food Systems for 2025 and Beyond’.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is making significant strides in its pursuit of regional food security, with notable achievements in increased agricultural production, deeper intra-regional cooperation, and improved sector financing.
Ambassador David Prendergast, Director, Sectoral Programmes at the CARICOM Secretariat, has highlighted the positive results of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) 25 x 2025+5 Initiative.
He identified the key advancements in the approval and implementation of the Trade Policy for Animal and Animal Products (TPAAP), Regional Agricultural Health and Food Safety Policy, Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) Guidelines for Trade in 19 special agricultural commodities, and the Alternate SPS Dispute Settlement Mechanism.
In a significant step toward bolstering food security in the Region, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), launched the Caribbean Real-Time Food Security Monitoring Dashboard. The digital platform, unveiled on Thursday, 10 April 2025, offers live updates on food security conditions across 11 Caribbean nations: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St.
"The Caribbean Real-Time Food Security Monitoring Dashboard is more than just a tool; it is a symbol of resilience and determination to foster a food-secure future for the Community. While the platform monitors food security, we remain committed to the broader goal of achieving food and nutrition security for the Region.
The project aligns with Barbados’ wider goals under the CARICOM 25 by 2025 (now 25 X 2030) agenda to reduce food imports and improve youth engagement in agriculture.
Uncertainties in the global trade arena and impacts from natural disasters in the Region are among the factors that have necessitated an extension to the regional food security initiative.