By D. Markie Spring From Caribbean news Now

Zero hunger extends beyond dependence upon the government!

To date, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is marred by exacerbating poverty and towering unemployment, forcing many Vincentians to go foodless and begging for their daily bread. On a minute by minute basis, I recollect the struggles of many people trying to make ends meet.

Interestingly, to ameliorate these dreaded conditions, the Unity Labour Party (ULP) 2015 campaign alluded to addressing hunger and poverty in SVG. On page 35 of the manifesto, the party falsely stated that a ULP fourth term will build upon employment, lower taxes and food and nutrition among other advances. Seemingly, this message of ‘zero hunger’ had assuaged voters’ sufferings!

Three months after the elections, there is no added employment; taxes have increased; and there is not an advance in agriculture – much less food and nutrition.

To be fair, this ‘zero hunger’ initiative is a brilliant idea; however, it is clouded with too many misconceptions, lies and narcissism.

In fact, the government has recently concluded and communicated its national budget estimates and, to meet budget demands, the government has decided to raise taxes on basic food items, with the exception of chicken back and neck, and strong rum.

From here on, I would like to change my approach toward addressing major issues in SVG. In my honest opinion, I believe that the prime minister should credit good contributions and allow us to make recommendations in an effort to collectively build the nation.

Let me address the PM directly!

As I said previously, your actions often refute your words. There is no way you can achieve ‘zero hunger’ using those criteria you’ve put forward. As a matter fact, I would like you to address the nation concerning your promise to lower taxes and two months after you’re sworn into government, raised taxes on basic food items.

Furthermore, how can SVG achieve the ‘zero hunger’ initiative when you are hovering over a lifeless agriculture sector and considering that you’ve promised to revive the banana industry by planting 2,000 acres of bananas as outlined on page 22 of the ‘red’ book? How can you realize the ‘zero hunger’ goal when you’ve decided to banish bananas to plant weed? Many questions surface here, are you going to sell weed and import food for all the hungry Vincentians? I’d like to see that!

More questions arise from your confusing strategies!

Who is this program designed for? Is it your family or the ULP supporters? I ask for the same reason that too often the people that support the opposition are being excluded and placed at the back of the bus. What will you do with the extra taxes you´ve placed on cell phone calls? Is it your intention to take that money to place more young people on the poor relief program, instead of investing in agriculture for food and employment? Is your ‘zero hunger’ designed so that poor people can beg from you or it is planned in a way to make people independent of their own bread?

Do you really believe that you can achieve ‘zero hunger’ with these strategies, or is this a movie, carefully designed to regain popularity?

Furthermore, Mr PM, the reason I am so concerned is for the same reason this country is regressing and needs help from citizens who are equipped with the knowledge and vision to succeed on the road to economic prosperity and independence. Know that you cannot do this alone; in fact, you do not have universal knowledge of the issues confronting SVG – you need our help; hence, this article!

Remember too, a leader who does not listen and involve the ‘people’ is bound to fail – check your record!

Henceforth, I’d recommend that you employ the New Democratic Party’s plan for agriculture, as it would work well in your quest to achieve the ‘zero hunger’ initiative. Simply, it would revitalize agriculture, create employment, and access to food – three of the fundamental criteria for reducing hunger and poverty.

Additionally, I urge the PM to benchmark against these phenomena when adequate knowledge and expertise are not readily available to the government. Over the years I have carried out research on ‘zero hunger’ programs. My investigation concluded that Brazil has developed an effective paradigm for ‘zero hunger’. It is recommended that SVG carry out a case study on Brazil’s success and adapt the features that suit its environment.

Interestingly, the WFP Centre of Excellence against hunger is promoting sustainable solutions to attain food security and nutrition and has urged countries to use the Brazilian experience as a reference. President Luiz Incaio ‘Lula’ Da Silva achieved the ‘zero hunger’ goal through a food security strategy. In achieving this, the strategy revolves around two important axes: access to food and strengthening of family farming.

Here, it is worthy to note that the Richmond Vale Academy (RVA) in Richmond is promoting a similar program for the North Leeward area.

According to WFP’s director, Daniel Balaban, another of Brazil’s most prominent successes is the boosting of Brazil’s school feeding program, which connects both elements. In fact, the law regulating Brazil’s National School Feeding Program (PNAE in Portuguese) has recognized school feeding as a right and determined that it should be linked to family agriculture – making it mandatory that at least 30 percent of the funds are allocated to food purchase from smallholder farmers.

To further endorse this phenomenon, Daniel Balaban stressed that this groundbreaking strategy tackles a wide range of areas, such as health, agriculture, social and economic development – some of which the ULP indicated in its manifesto. The pounding question is how can the government build on these areas if it cannot achieve the ‘zero hunger’ initiative?

Moreover, this widely recognized school feeding program in Brazil contributes to the increase in enrollment and attendance, reduces dropouts and develops the cognitive ability of children. Brazil’s purchase quota for family farming has allowed the school feeding program to become an incentive for local agricultural and market developments, producing sustainable demand for local food production and in so doing, enhances income and resilience of smallholder farmers; hence, improving their livelihoods.

Today, an increasing number of countries around the world, including The Gambia, Rwanda, Bangladesh and Pakistan are moving toward the ‘zero hunger’ initiative using the Brazilian model. I recommend that SVG take a look!

I implore the PM – do not be as dogmatic about your idea as it can easily be refuted. Start involving the people who are gravely affected and those of us who have the intellectual capacity to help design an effective program.

Certainly, our country cannot achieve ‘zero hunger’ without a food security program and employment. Neither can it achieve this goal by isolating the NDP half of the population nor raising taxes on the most basic food items. Your recent decision, Mr PM, has allowed me to conclude that you either want Vincentians to survive on chicken back and neck or die drinking strong rum.

All brilliant ideas often require a capable leader!

IMAGE: The author of a number of published works, D. Markie Spring was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines and now resides in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He has an MBA from the University of Leicester, England, and a BA from Saint Mary’s University, Canada

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