A February 29 article published in the Forbes Daily and written by Barbadian journalist, Daphne Ewing-Chow, says that the Caribbean’s food systems are among the most vulnerable globally, attributing the condition to the ongoing hostile climate change conditions. The writer’s disclosure is based on what she says is “the latest update from the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Country Index,” and which provides ratings for the thirteen member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The disclosure comes on the heels of what, just over a year ago, had been dismal commentaries from the World Bank Group regarding a condition of worrying food security in the region. The information derived from the ND-GAINS’ (Notre Dame Global Adaptation Administration Initiative) annual assessment of one hundred and eighty nine (189) countries states that out of the thirteen (13) CARICOM member countries listed in the ND-GAINS annual assessment, Trinidad and Tobago is listed in the upper half (#73 of 189 countries) and Suriname (#85) ranked in the upper 50th percentile worldwide “with respect to the climate vulnerability of their food systems.” Among the “upper middle income” countries named in the Study, St. Kitts & Nevis and Antigua & Barbuda were the only countries in the bottom 10% of the ranking, assuming positions 176 and 177 respectively on the 189-country scale.
