27 February 2015: Agriculture and small-scale and family farming are critical drivers of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, and key to addressing food security and coping with climate change, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva told Heads of Government at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit. Da Silva also highlighted progress by CARICOM members in achieving the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDG) hunger target.

The 26th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean convened from 26-27 February 2015, in Nassau, the Bahamas. The meeting focused on the topic ‘Leveraging CARICOM’s Human, Cultural and Natural Resources for the Economic Development of the Community,’ and included discussions on youth development and poverty eradication.

The Summit resulted in a Communiqué, which acknowledges the role of the cultural and creative industries in contributing to the region’s development and the pursuit of inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth. The Communiqué also recognizes the central role of youth as “the backbone of the creative industries.”

Addressing the Heads of Government in attendance, da Silva said strengthening support to agriculture and family farming “will help to ensure greater sufficiency in local food production, protecting your economies from external price shocks.” He elaborated that agriculture and family farming also contribute to job creation and tourism revenues.

Barbados, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname are among the 70 developing countries that have met the MDG target of halving the proportion of hungry people by 2015, according to the UN. Da Silva said FAO is working with CARICOM members to combat hunger and nutrition by designing and implementing strategies and Action Plans to address the multiple dimensions of malnutrition. Looking ahead to the post-2015 development agenda, he called for a zero hunger goal in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), noting that many countries have already made such a commitment.

Stressing climate change as “a question of survival” for small island developing States (SIDS), da Silva said FAO will partner with SIDS to help them achieve sustainable development. He also highlighted: the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on the region’s agriculture, food security and sustainable development; efforts to build resilience to natural disasters; and the role of South-South cooperation in promoting food security and nutrition. [UN Press Release] [FAO Press Release] [FAO Director-General Statement] [CARICOM Press Release on Meeting Communiqué] [CARICOM Press Release]