The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

THE government yesterday launched a national food and nutrition security policy (FNSP) and plan of action.

The initiative seeks to combat the nutritional challenges facing the country. These include undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and high rates of obesity.

Health officials have deemed the latter an epidemic, as these issues contribute to high rates of chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) in the country. "If we don't get this right, our people will be dropping dead like flies," said Health Minister Dr Duane Sands.

Dr Sands spoke yesterday at the launch ceremony, which was held at the Ministry of Health's cafeteria.

He said: "The underpinning philosophy of food nutrition security is that all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods to meet dietary needs and food preferences.

"Unfortunately, though, our diets are overloaded with highly processed and fried foods, fatty meats, calorie dense but nutrient poor snacks, sweet beverages and soda -- all of which are implicated in our world-leading levels of overweight and obesity.

"The latest national data shows that six out of every 10 Bahamians have not one, not two, but three risk factors that can lead to a non-communicable disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke or cancer. NCDs account for more than 20 percent of the loss of productive life years among Bahamians."

However, "virtually all NCDs are preventable through lifestyle changes," he added.

The FNSP and plan of action will be "one of the many prongs" the Minnis administration will be using to tackle this issue.

Renward Wells, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, said: "This policy document emphasises inter-agency and inter-sectoral collaboration and linkages necessary to achieve the four pillars of food security which are: food availability, food accessibility and affordability, consumption choice, and stability of food supplies to economic and environmental shocks."

In terms of agriculture, Mr Wells explained The Bahamas "has a food dependence ratio of 92 percent. This means that we only produce eight percent of our food needs. This statistic is alarming because it highlights our dependence on food imports."

Mr Wells said one step taken by his ministry to "shore up the strategy toward food safety and real food security" includes continuing the Backyard Gardening Programme, which "provides support to persons interested in growing some of their own food, targeting families in the inner city and those receiving government assistance."

"We have also sought to increase food production through technology and innovation through the partnership of Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre (GRAC) and the Caribbean Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Together, they are looking at varieties and production practices that can increase sweet potatoes production, which is one of the food crops identified in the National Dietary Guidelines for increased consumption," the Bamboo Town MP said.

Other steps include sustainable fishing and the safety of imported and local goods. Specifically, the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) has been created to protect consumers from risk arising from additives, contaminants, toxins, or disease-causing organisms in their food," Mr Wells said.

The ministry is also working to prepare the agriculture and marine resources sectors to be more resistant to the effects of climate change.

According to Brickhell Pinder, chief economist of the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the FSNP has 16 policy objectives. These include "enhancing income to facilitate reduction in poverty and unemployment," "addressing price barriers to reduce food and nutrition security," and "mainstreaming food and nutrition security in social protection and health care programmes."

Ms Pinder also said that the government will "appoint a National Food and Nutrition Security Coordinating Commission to track the progress of the implementation of the FSNP."

In 2015, the World Health Organisation ranked the Bahamas the sixth most obese country in the world. In 2012, it was estimated that 80 percent of adults were overweight and 49 percent were obese.

The FNSP was developed to combat this as well as assist the 5.6 percent or approximately 19,000 individuals "who still lack sufficient food for their dietary needs."

Also in attendance at the launch were Romauld Ferreira, Minister of Environment and Housing; Mark Humes, MP for Fort Charlotte; Patricia Minnis, wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Dr Terri Raney, senior policy officer and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative.