Hannah Clarendon (left), the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation's representative to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas, has the attention yesterday of Jennifer Edwards, Minister of State for Agriculture, at the press launch of 'World Food Day' at the ministry's Hope Road headquarters. 'World Food Day' is annually celebrated on October 16 in the hope of eliminating hunger worldwide. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer AS PART of 'World Food Day' activities this year, Jamaican farmers are being encouraged to apply more efficient farming practices to improve food production.
The strategy, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is to get them back into food production for individual consumption; increase food security and reduce hunger; reduce the levels of poverty; increase health and nutrition through domestic production; reduce food imports and develop strategic agricultural support service programmes.
Plans for World Food Day activities will include the awarding of FAO medals of appreciation to three farmers who have made the most innovative use of water for irrigation; a poster competition for students aged 11-14; the on-going school farm competition for primary, all-age, high and technical-vocational institutions; advancing the backyard gardening competition administered by the ministry's extension service, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and the clean-beach competition, managed by the Jamaica Fishermen's Co-operative Union.
Jennifer Edwards, Minister of State for Agriculture, said yesterday that Jamaica would join 174 other FAO member-countries worldwide, in renewing its commitment to the goal of making food for all human beings a right for present and future generations.
This, as 800 million people worldwide are without enough to eat, even while Jamaica's problems are less to do with hunger and more to do with inefficient farming techniques for optimum production and consumption.
The theme for this year is 'Water: source of food security', as the issue of water availability is also forcing farmers to recognise the importance of proper water management to sustainable food production.
Water is a finite resource, according to FAO, and limited access to water is increasingly becoming a constraint to food production. Though water covers three-quarters of the earth, only a small fraction is accessible as fresh water and almost 70 per cent of that withdrawn is needed to produce food.
The objectives of World Food Day are to heighten public awareness of the world hunger problem, to encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end.
The Jamaican Government has established a National Food Day core committee, to which additional members are nominated each year to plan a programme of activities depicting the theme. There will be the national church service and exhibition on October 13 in St. Elizabeth, where the winners of the various competitions will be announced.
