At a time when Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries are coming under increasing pressure to significantly lower an estimated US4 billion annual food import bill a Cdn$20 million initiative is set to forge new links between several regional farming communities and major buyers of fresh produce—like supermarkets and hotels—in the Caribbean that could present a major part of the solution to the food import problem.
The Canadian Hunger Foundation (CHF) and its regional office CHF Caribbean have initiated the ‘Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages’ (PROPEL) Project which will run over a six-year period. At its core the project will seek to strengthen links between farmers in eight named Caricom countries and some of the more lucrative markets for fresh foods in the region.
Guyana is among the countries from which 28,000 farmers will be identified to work with the project. The other countries
