The latest geopolitical dinner table has served up a myriad of eye-opening side dishes, from the oven-fresh US-Venezuela crisis to warnings or promises of US invasions of Cuba, Mexico, Greenland and Canada. With the advent of our latest hemispheric development, the atrocities in the Russia-Ukraine war and the Isreal -Gaza genocide seem to be fading into the background with haste. What needs to be the main course, nonetheless, is how we will be able to manage amidst what has been described as a global crisis of epic proportion.
For his part, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre seems resolute in what appears to be a decision to not make any personal statements on the US -Venezuela invasion, opting rather to speak collectively through and with the CARICOM group, a wise choice possibly, particularly in light of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica receiving a symbolic red light from the US recently.
The blunt truth is that, as a small country, we have little muscle to influence any major change even in matters that adversely affect us directly. Our best bet has always been to align with groups with similar interests and objectives as ours.
The recent invasion of Venezuela threatens much of what sustains us as a region.
In the immediate aftermath of the events of January 3rd, a major portion of air travel, to and from the region, was halted leaving the regional tourism industry and air cargo scrambling to adjust and losing revenue in the process. Shipping lines were also reportedly affected.
There is a very realistic possibility that this current hemispheric tension can escalate even further especially in light of recent pronouncements by the President of the United States and the positions and comments made by leaders in and out of the region.
We are now actively living in a time when food security is no longer an attractive talking point for individuals merely seeking the limelight. It has become the single most important aspect of our existence. Can we produce what we eat? Will we eat what we produce? Can we produce enough? These questions actually needed answers yesterday yet as a region our ability to feed ourselves still requires major attention.
This is embarrassing and unfortunate when we take into consideration that St. Lucia and the other regional territories boast immensely fertile soil, the human ability to produce, the local and regional markets and the scare of food shortages yet we have deliberately or otherwise chosen to increase our food import bill.
Ready or not, the time is fast approaching when the air and sea shipping lines will be adversely affected, and it is at that point that all the empty talk of diversification and food security will smack us squarely in the face.
Our approach to this impending crisis possibility must, however, be multi-pronged. We must start producing more for our consumption, we must establish new and more resilient, non-traditional shipping routes and new non-traditional trading partners.
What is most critical in all this is the mammoth task of getting St. Lucia as a whole to buy into this concept of utilizing locally produced products.