-ECLAC report
GUYANA has been making steady progress in ending all forms of malnutrition, according to a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The report is titled, ‘The Challenge of Accelerating the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Transitions towards Sustainability.’ It is the seventh report on regional progress and challenges about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and outlines not only Guyana’s economic growth but also its achievements in reducing the number of chronically undernourished children.

In keeping with the sustainable development goal # 2, ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture,’ the report stated that achieving it requires a 40 per cent reduction in the number of chronically undernourished children under 5 years of age by 2025 and a prevalence of less than 2.5 per cent by 2030.
Official data indicate that by 2022, the number of chronically undernourished children—as determined by the condition’s most prevalent symptom, stunting—had decreased by 43.6 per cent since 2000.

The most significant achievement, among the five countries, was Guyana, where the reduction reached 58 per cent in 2022.
It should be noted that Guyana has crafted a model to transform its agriculture and food production systems, seeking out newer technologies and innovative programmes to meet the nutritional needs of the region.

Lauding the country’s approach to achieving regional food security targets, such as reducing import expenditure on food, and implementing programmes to address malnutrition and hunger, the Director of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr. Manuel Otero, said the nation has been playing a proactive role.
Dr. Otero, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of the 38th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC) last month, said there have been notable investments in the country’s agriculture sector.

Dr. Otero noted that every country is unique, and their approach to addressing the challenges faced within the production sector may vary, but in Guyana’s case, what has been notable is the government’s persistent and public-private partnerships to not only increase food production but also the investments being made in innovation.
Guyana, he said, has a special responsibility, with the country’s natural resources such as its arable land and tropical eco-system, food production can thrive.

And one such example is the ongoing cultivation of a new high-yielding variety of rice, which is being done in partnership with IICA.
The new bio-fortified rice variety, Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) IICA 17), contains 17 to 20mg per kilogramme of zinc, providing a healthy option to consumers.
While these investments are notable, the IICA Director highlighted there is a need for greater involvement of the private sector and access to financing, not only in Guyana but regionally as well.