Honduras urges 'transformation of economic model' to achieve food security

Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Monday urged a “transformation of the economic model” to achieve food security, during the 38th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“For food and nutrition security to be sustainable and equitable, we must transform the economic model,” he said in a video speech to attendees at the conference that opened on Monday in Guyana.

Castro, whose country holds the interim presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), explained that the economic model must “support the countryside and producers, create incentives, and provide access to credit and markets.”

He believes that it is “urgent to strengthen food sovereignty” because although the region produces and exports food, hunger, poverty and inequality persist. 43 million people still suffer from hunger.

“Globalization has not solved our problems, but has exacerbated them. We have a long and arduous road ahead of us to eliminate the structural causes of dependency and exploitation to which our natural resources and people have been subjected,” he noted.

Castro called for dialogue and coalition-building to design structural policies that include women, indigenous peoples and peasants, regulate ownership and use of land and water, and protect biodiversity.

“Equitable production and access to food depend to a large extent on it,” he added.

These policies should also strengthen family farming and local markets, and modify the economic model.

“I propose to modify our economic system and implement policies and measures that increase the productive capacity of Latin American and Caribbean societies to turn these goals into reality,” he concluded.

The 38th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean brings together agricultural ministers and other representatives of the 33 Member States to address the fight against hunger, efficient and sustainable production, adaptation to climate change and reducing inequality, among others. Evie