NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A recent food security and livelihood survey launched by CARICOM has underscored the serious level of attention needed to address the issue of food security in the country, according to a governance reformer yesterday.
Hubert Edwards, head of the Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) economic development committee, described the issue as a national security matter.
“The recent Caribbean Food Security and Livelihood Survey published by CARICOM provides very useful insights for The Bahamas that should be treated as important markers and actively examined by policymakers in a more robust manner,” he said.
“The survey is indicative of the serious level of attention that is needed on the issue of food security in the country and puts on the radar matters to be considered from a policy perspective as it relates to vulnerable segments of the population. Food security is a national security matter and one that is a bit more complex than simply having food to eat. The outputs from the survey suggest that the persons sampled are displaying the very pronounced characteristics of being food insecure.”
A recent United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) survey revealed that many Bahamians have been forced to eat less or skip meals this year due to the impact of global inflation in The Bahamas.
A total of 734 Bahamians were surveyed in February and August, and it found that 204 people indicated they were worried they would not have enough food to eat, 140 said they went a day without eating and 166 people said there were times in the past 30 days when they were hungry but did not eat. The survey also noted that 206 people indicated that they had to skip a meal and 241 people said they ate less than they thought they should.
Edwards said: “Food security requires, amongst other elements, for there to be food availability – having sufficient quantity of appropriate food available; accessibility, which includes purchasing power; utilization, which includes adequate nutritious dietary intake. It is clear from the survey that these three important elements are being negatively impacted.
“In addition to persons going without food, the findings showed that those who responded were eating a narrow range of food, unable to eat healthy and nutritious food, and, while there may also be adverse implications here, eating less than desired.”
He said that coupled with the reported coping strategies – reducing expenditure on non-food items such as health and education and using savings to meet food needs – these matters bring to the fore important social, economic, and human capacity issues that should attract official attention.
“The pandemic has exposed weaknesses in the country’s food security infrastructure and the survey provides anecdotal evidence that matters such as “feeding self”, “expanding local agricultural output”, “employing technology to secure less expensive output” continues to be urgent policy issues. There are aspects of the information, as it currently stands, where great care should be applied in its interpretation. Despite this, it becomes readily obvious that the sample of persons responding to the survey are likely to fall in vulnerable segments or lower social-economic groupings.
“Set against the backdrop of the pandemic one would anticipate that the outcomes as reported would be reflected in these groupings. This does not diminish the potency of the findings. A careful assessment across all reported outputs displays a level of consistency in either deteriorating income, negative effects on food consumption, or need for noticeable adjustments to purchasing patterns,” said Edwards.
He continued:, “When the dominant age demographic of above 40 is considered, and we take into account their main worries – inability to cover essential needs; fear of illness; unemployment and having to resort to savings – it is clear that at some level the country should take a careful look to ensure we fully understand the issues at play and are responding accordingly. These matters should not be ignored.
“Critically, the lifestyle adjustments noted hold negative implications for health and quality of life and by extension for national productivity and increased government social support. Therefore in the face of high and increasing levels of inflation, the questions to be asked are: how representative this survey is of the entire population? What initiatives and programs are in place, or are adjustments needed to address the indicative issues? In addition, what work needs to be done to ensure that the potential negative effects suggested are efficiently addressed in the best interest of the country?”
