CARICOM Launches Agriculture Insurance Initiative

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) launched the Regional Economic Agricultural Insurance Programme (REAP) at a ceremony in Guyana on Friday. CARICOM deems the initiative crucial to the commitment by Heads of Government to reduce the Region’s large food import bill by 25 percent by 2025. In an address to the launch, the CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development, Joseph Cox, emphasised the vital role of agriculture insurance in member states to protect against ‘unpredictable and devastating’ climate change impacts on the sector. Cox noted that CARICOM Member States are among the most vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS) whose agriculture sectors remain highly exposed to the effects of climate change. He observed that weather pattern changes, heavier rainfall, and harsher dry seasons, among other things, continue to have disastrous effects on the agriculture sector’s output and productivity. In this regard, the senior CARICOM official referenced Hurricane Beryl’s devastating impact on the Caribbean. “If the advent of Hurricane Beryl has taught us anything it is that we must have recovery and resilience plans in place,” Cox stated. He recalled the devastation caused to Dominica by Hurricane Maria when the country lost 290% of its entire GDP overnight. “As the Caribbean...