Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific need more research and policy intervention to stem the reduction in (bio)diversity in the diet

Biodiversity and diets was one of the topics raised at IFPRI's 2020 Global conference which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 15-17 May 2014. According to Gibson Susumu of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, two out of every three deaths today can be attributed to Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease. NCDs are a result of a change in livestyles (more sedentary) and diets linked to consumption of highly processed imported products, while local crop species are abandoned or reduced in the local diet.

During the IFPRI conference, CTA organized a high-level panel with experts from the Caribbean and Pacific . The topic for discussion was "Enhancing resilience for food and nutrition security in small island economies". Chaired by CTA director Michael Hailu, the panel also included Gyan Acharya, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

A number of important themes emerged from the panel:

• higher consumption of locally grown produce contributes to better health;
• increased linkages between agriculture and other economic sectors (tourism, ICTs...)
• farmers need to own more of the value chain to become more productive and profitable; and
• there needs to be more co-operation within and between the two regions (Caribbean and Pacific).
• there is a need to strengthen the link between private and public sector in terms of policies related to food and nutrition security at national, regional and where possible international level.

Gibson Susumu, Food Security Technical Officer at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, says the Pacific Islands are not often engaged with international research organisations.
"There needs to be extra support so our voices can be heard, and so we can get the support we need to meet our challenges especially with respect to food security."

The points raised during the high-level panel will feed into the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, which will take place in Samoa in September this year. These issues are also relevant to the celebration of the African Year of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security, the Caribbean Week of Agriculture which will take place in Suriname in October and the 2nd International Conference on Nutrition which will take place in Rome.

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