The launch of CariFoodFund Foundation (see related story) could mark an important step in boosting food security across the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK will provide 18 million euros as starting capital to support investments that contribute to strengthening the food system, including local production.
Another 6.6 million euros has been allocated for government-led policy actions in the field. The intention is to ensure resources are used effectively for projects that strengthen the food system, including farming, animal husbandry and fishing.
The new fund being set up in cooperation with the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) is to serve Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. It will provide financial support for agrarian ventures designed to reduce the islands’ heavy dependence on imports.
All this also requires optimal coordination, so the recent Dutch Caribbean Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Alliance (DC ALFA) conference at Simpson Bay Resort was probably helpful in that sense. Among other things, it led to the signing of an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the six islands.
The fund is being developed as a revolving financing mechanism, meaning that loan repayments will be reinvested into new projects, creating a sustainable source of funding for future agricultural development. To achieve that goal, the foundation is seeking partnerships with financial institutions, including banks and pension funds in both the Caribbean and the Netherlands.
The plans align with broader efforts by BZK to strengthen economic resilience in the Caribbean parts of the kingdom. Increased local production can create jobs and stimulate entrepreneurship too, while consuming more home-grown fruit and vegetables or freshly caught fish is usually healthier as well.
With some means now available for both government-led and private initiatives, efforts must be made not to let these go to waste due to lack of timely sound, feasible and well-prepared projects, as has regrettably been the case in the past with -for example- certain European Union (EU) funding for infrastructure.
When opportunity knocks, it pays to be ready.
