Lessons Learned: Testing a Farm to Fork Model in the Caribbean

Isabella Francis-Granderson, PhD., RD

Faculty of Food and Agriculture, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

November 02 – 04, 2015

Background Research Goals Methods Farm to Fork Model Achievements Lessons Learned Challenges Knowledge & Policy Uptake Conceptual Framework for Agricultural Development and Food &

Nutrition Security Acknowledgements

Outline

Trinidad and Tobago

Guyana

St. LuciaSt. Kitts and Nevis

15 CARICOM Countries

Overweight and Obesity in the Caribbean in > 30 years old

23

16

25

7 8

2016 15 14 12 11 10 10

1

57 55 54

4643

3430 29 27 25 24 23 22

19

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Bar

bado

s

Trin

idad

and

Tob

ago

Dom

inic

a

Jam

aica

Sai

nt L

ucia

Bah

amas

Sai

nt K

itts

and

Nev

is

Ant

igua

and

Bar

buda

Gre

nada

Sai

nt V

ince

nt a

nd th

eG

rena

dine

s Bel

ize

Sur

inam

e

Guy

ana

Hai

ti

Prev

alen

ce o

f Obe

sity

Males

Females

Source: J. R. Deep Ford 2013; FAO

• CARICOM Food Insecurity has taken the form of overweight & obesity

• Obesity is high risk factor in NCDs, costing CARICOM 5-8% of GDP

• Obesity , especially women, is rapidly increasing, and on the rise among children

• Obesity is linked to low consumption of fruits & vegetables, high intakes of fats, oils and sugar- Poor consumer food choices and lifestyles;

• High food import bill (US $5 bil/yr) – energy- dense food types

• Institutional and market constraints on domestic production of nutritious food

• Seasonality in crop and livestock productivity , floods and droughts

• Limited Institutional Capacity ; Policy decisions; Community & personal actions

Problem Statement and Challenges : Food Insecurity in CARICOM

• Improve nutrition & health outcomes of CARICOM populations through availability of foods that would increase intake of vegetables & fruits, decrease caloric intake, and increase micronutrient intake;

• Develop food production systems based on agricultural diversification, water conservation & efficient use of land;

• Build and test a Farm to Fork Model for CARICOM food and nutrition security;

• Expand and build human and institutional capacity to solve problems of food and nutrition insecurity in CARICOM;

• Understand constraints to, and accelerate the rate of technology adoption by small farmers;

• Adapt international standards of food safety and quality for a healthy, market-oriented food supply chain;

Project Goals

From Farm

To Fork

Socio-Economic Studies Consumer and Farmer Household Surveys Focus groups on innovation & technology adoption

Environmental Management

Gender Consideration

…and beyond

Water and Land Resources Drip Irrigation, Water and Soil Conservation Protected Agriculture Open Field Crop Diversification Silage conservation for Small Ruminants

Market access Post-Harvest Loss Management Food Safety and Quality

Community Nutrition and Health Improving the quality of School Meals Nutrition Education Consumer food choices

Policy Changes for Sustained Food Security in CARICOM

Farm to Fork: Impact pathway

• Food matters in prevention of obesity and overweight • Consumption of adequate level of fruit and vegetable plays a role in weight

control • Targeting School feeding programmes and children for healthy eating is a useful

strategy to improve regional food and nutrition security • Linking small holder farmers to school feeding programmes promotes agricultural

and market development and enhances community nutrition and health outcomes

• CARICOM Governments, private sector and “community actors” will support

development of local farming and child nutrition programmes

• Development of a “home-grown school feeding as a farm to fork model has national and regional utility and will garner support among policy makers

Model Assumptions

Scho

ol F

eedi

ng fo

rC

hild

Nut

ritio

n an

d H

ealth

Prod

uce

Proc

urem

ent

from

Sm

all F

arm

ers

Agr

icul

tura

l Te

chno

logy

for

Food

Pro

duct

ion

S o c i a l S c i e n c e

S o c i a l S c i e n c e

Collective action

Innovation

Technology adoption

Social capital

Policy

Farm to Fork Model

Farm to Fork Modelfor CARICOM Food & Nutrition Security

Household & Communi ty

F o o d & N u t r i t i o n s e c u r i t y

1. CARICOM project: First in CARICOM to adopt a multi-sectoral approach to generating an integrated package of scientific evidence for solutions to food and nutrition insecurity. 2. Preconditions for model adoption:

– Equipping small holder farmers with sustainable agricultural technologies and technology uptake by farmers;

– Strengthening markets & mechanisms for produce procurement for school feeding;

– Investments in and strengthening School Feeding Programmes and Policy

– Acceleration of technical and institutional capacity

– Need for collective action and Knowledge flows among Institutions, policy makers, community and stakeholders

Comments and Preconditions for successful farm to fork model

• Institutional and human capacity building Over 2,000 participants gained skills in drip irrigation, protected agriculture, forage conservation and catering. This led to a 32% increase in the cropping area under drip irrigation and a six-fold expansion in the area used for cultivating fodder crops.

In St. Kitts: Ministries of agriculture, health and education joined in an integrated effort and formalized, a ministerial memorandum of understanding, to tackle childhood obesity. This includes early nutrition interventions in schools and policy that links healthy eating in schools to produce procurement from local farmers.

• Partnerships: national, regional and international level. - Collaboration with local ministries of agriculture, health and education, and with support from other institutional partners in four CARICOM countries (St Kitts-Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and St Lucia).

- The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in Guyana and McGill University led to the water balance model for more efficient use of water resources for crop production. - The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St Kitts-Nevis, the Ministry of Agriculture of St Kitts-Nevis, and McGill University, on small ruminant productivity . The formation of the Small Ruminant Farmers’ Association.

Major Achievements

 

• Agricultural technology and innovation:

- Collaborative arrangements between farmers in St Kitts-Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago and the school lunch programs in both countries, related to support for improved agricultural technologies to increase year-round productivity and diversity of farmers’ produce. Over a two-year period, with the introduction of drip irrigation on selected crops: tomato yields increased from 18 to 32 tons/ha, pumpkin from 17 to 25 tons/ha and string beans from 3 to 10 tons/ha.

- The application of the computer simulation soil-water balance model, McGill-IRRIMOD© , enabled farmers to irrigate according to crop requirements. Facilitated irrigation scheduling and identified an irrigation treatment to water requirement for vegetables, with 20% increase in water use efficiency (St. Kitts and Guyana).

Major Achievements

Major Achievements • School feeding

- Increase local food diversity in school lunches

Quantities of fruit and vegetables served in the Farm to Fork schools were 10 times greater than in non-participating schools.

In St Kitts-Nevis, in addition to pumpkin, onions and Irish potatoes into school lunches; 11 different fruit and vegetables were added including tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, string beans, cabbage, cucumber and watermelon.

In Trinidad, local fruits such as watermelon, tangerines and bananas were added. An acceptability survey showed the proportion of children accepting fruit and vegetables ranged from 34% for carrots and 70% for tomatoes to 85% for watermelon

- Improved nutrition knowledge Changes in nutrition knowledge for children indicated a higher level of knowledge among the group that received both nutrition education and menu changes compared to those in control schools. This suggests that changes to the school lunch menu alone do not improve nutrition knowledge but must be offered in conjunction with relevant nutrition education

• New markets for farm produce can play an important role in encouraging more farmers to produce a variety of foods.

• Ongoing collaboration between school meal programs and farmers are

needed• Labour-saving devices are needed in the food production centers in order

to increase the use of local foods as more processing is involved in such activities as making juices from local fruits, etc.

• Through collaborative efforts with many partners, one can successfully feed children more fruits and vegetables and increase local food production through efforts to buy locally

Lessons Learnt

• As farmers produce more food for the schools, this opens up other markets and can cause price competition, increasing prices resulting in a greater inducement to grow more produce.

• There is a role for education in nutrition as it helps increase food acceptance among children. Education of those who prepare to make palatable meals and understand the importance of good nutrition to health is essential.

• For school meals program there is a role for each of the Ministries: Health, Education and Agriculture to play.

The Ministry of Health has a role in food inspection and providing healthier environments to reduce the risk of obesity and NCDs.

School policies are needed to help create a healthy food environment for children. As with tobacco control, environmental changes can have an impact on diet.

Lessons Learnt

• The Ministry of Education has the lead role in offering a healthy meal and food environment. Good nutrition is important for optimal school performance . In addition, children can get an opportunity to learn about food, agriculture and health.

- Incorporating nutrition education within the curriculum at all levels of all primary and secondary schools and teacher education institutions should be prioritized.

• For the Ministry of Agriculture, implement measures to strengthen the agricultural sector to ensure that there is a sustainable supply and consumption of locally produced fruits and vegetables and better marketing of local produce.

- The School is one market but in increasing production can lead to other markets such as hospitals and prisons as well as the tourism sector.

• These Ministries do not traditionally come together over the school lunch; however, working in concert they saw the real advantages of supporting the provision of local produce for schoolchildren to increase health, school performance and domestic food production.

Lessons Learnt

• Partnership arrangements/building: administrative delays in negotiating and finalizing partnership agreements.

• Identifying proven partnerships and working with applicant researchers that have established and proven working relationships, prior to the start of the project

• Stakeholder engagement obtaining cooperation from farmers to provide information about produce sales to school lunch programmes, This slowed progress with the mapping of the food value chain.

• In St Kitts, low levels of farmer participation influenced the quantity of data collected for the on- farm experiment with small ruminants.

• In Trinidad, very few farmers participated in the protected agriculture trials. This was mainly due farmers’ perception of a high cost of this type of involvement in on-farm research; also, for bio- security reasons, many greenhouse producers were reluctant to allow UWI researchers to enter their structures.

• Poor parent participation in nutrition education sessions

• Coordination and communications: less than optimal communication among project researchers, project and local agricultural extension staff and farmers. Impacted timely sharing of knowledge with farmers and other stakeholders. For example, the results of technologies undertaken by the project on farmers’ plots did not always reach farmers in a timely manner.

Challenges

Knowledge and Policy Uptake• Knowledge &k

The Way Forward

• Collaboration among the ministries of Education, Agriculture and Health are needed to develop and implement a comprehensive framework for promoting healthy school environments with a particular emphasis on nutritious school lunches (meals). Each Ministry has a key role:

• In developing a school meal policy and support for Caribbean schools based on

• Use of local fruits and vegetables in appropriate levels in a manner appealing to children.

• Supply 1/3 of daily intake of nutrients • Ensuring limited sugar and sodium• The limiting of other foods sold in and immediately around schools (Competitive foods)

to improve nutrition and ensure food safety.

• In providing more opportunities for physical activity in the schools.

• In supporting diverse agricultural production to fulfill the school meal needs and promoting school meals as a new market for farmers to increase their sales.

• In providing training to teachers and food vendors on healthy food environments

Knowledge & Policy Uptake

• In considering expansion of healthy school meals to other children on a cost recovery basis in Trinidad where not all children receive the school meals, and children are currently buying non-nutritious meals/snacks at school.

• Ministry of Education • Commission nutritional evaluations of school meals and seek recommendations for healthier meals that are accepted by children.

Integrate education on food and health into existing school curricula in primary and secondary schools.

• Ministry of Agriculture: Develop community-based smallholder farmer lusters to meet the demands of school meal programs for volume, quality and consistency in supply of fruit and vegetables.

Provide increased technical and non-technical support to producer groups to meet jointly established production targets throughout the different seasons.

– Strengthen local farmer groups and farming support systems – Revise incentive programs to enhance production – Implement procurement of local foods by public institutions – Promote consumption of locally produced foods at national level – Enhance research efforts for increased production of fruit and vegetables

Knowledge & Policy Uptake

• Ministry of Health : Support the development of specific school feeding guidelines to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, meet micronutrient needs and decrease the use of sweet drinks and high salt/saturated fat meals.

Conduct regular in-service training for health professionals on healthy local food to increase acceptability of national guidelines.

Knowledge & Policy Uptake

Steady supply of nutritious produce

Training of personnel

Record keeping

Institutional support &

Food procurement policy

Food safety inspection

Curtailment of sugary drinks & school

vendors

Improved farmer livelihood

Community food & nutrition security

CONCEPTUAL FRAME FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD & NUTRITION SECURITY

School menu cost efficiency

Community health & development

School Feeding &

Market Development

Input Input Outcomes

Funding for this project was provided by The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) a program of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).

We acknowledge the enormous support and contribution for the institutional partners and personnel in Guyana, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago

Special appreciation is expressed to Dr. Leroy Phillip, PI and all other Project Team members and Project Partners for their contributions to the project (McGill U, UG, UWI).

Project websites: https://www.caricomfoodsecurity.com https://www.mcgill.ca/globalfoodsecurity/research-initiatives/caricom-project

Acknowledgments

THANK YOU

CARICOM Project websites:https://www.caricomfoodsecurity.com

www.mcgill.ca/globalfoodsecurity/research-initiatives/caricom-project