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.

“It’s an interesting journey for us. It's a transformative journey that we have undertaken as a Region, and I'm happy to report that there have been positives; there have been some highlights that we are, in fact, proud of as a Region. And it says to us, we are progressing in a direction that once we're able to keep the momentum and to keep our eyes on the ball, we should be able to achieve a majority of what it is that we want for regional food security,” Mr. Shaun Baugh, Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Programme Manager at the CARICOM Secretariat said in an interview with the Communications Unit.

Speaking ahead of the Forty-ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, set for 6-8 July 2025 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Mr. Baugh shared a comprehensive update on the progress of the food security initiative that is aimed at reducing the Region's food import bill.

The Heads of Government at their last meeting in February, extended the timeline of the initiative – renamed '25 x 25+5' – from 2025 to 2030 to build on its early successes.