What is Food Security?🍅🍉🍇🍊🍋🍌🍍
Based on the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food Security in Jamaica
Food security is a major challenge in Jamaica. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 14.5% of the population is undernourished, and 18.5% of children under the age of five are stunted. The country is also highly dependent on food imports, with an estimated 80% of food being imported. This makes our country vulnerable to global price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner (2022), Four in every 10 Jamaicans have reduced their food consumption, and some 98 percent of Jamaicans who participated in the survey said there has been an increase in food prices. As a result, nine in every 10 Jamaicans surveyed have changed their shopping behavior. Almost two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic repercussions continue to take a toll on livelihoods, incomes, and food security in the Caribbean.
Video showing one such example of a food security crisis in Jamaica
Sustainable Solutions: Harnessing Technological Innovations and Advancements for Enhanced Food Security
Implementing technological innovations such as Smart Farming, Aquaponics and Hydroponics, and Renewable Energy Integration in agricultural practices can enhance food security for current and future Jamaicans.
World Bank Group. (2023, August 28). What is food security? there are four dimensions. World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-security-update/what-is-food-security
Food crisis Grips Jamaican homes, report finds. Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner. (2022, April 27). https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20220427/food-crisis-grips-jamaican-homes-report-finds
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