Countries in the Caribbean region have expressed interest in assisting Nigeria in improving agriculture and food security, particularly during this period of food shortages.
Dr. Levi Odoe, Consular General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, emphasized the importance of food security for a healthy society.
“My organization is here to promote agriculture and food security because of the necessity of food. This method we are suggesting is about planting in your gardens. I think by a simple method of backyard gardening, we would have more food,” Odoe said.
He suggested that bilateral relations between Nigeria and the Caribbean should focus more on agriculture than oil, and encouraged the Nigerian government to revive subsistence farming practices.
Odoe also highlighted opportunities for Nigerian entrepreneurs to export to Caribbean countries, stating, “Some Nigerian entrepreneurs are already exploiting the opportunities presented by the South-South Cooperation to expand exports to countries such as the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, and Guyana.”
He emphasized the need to remove trade barriers and create direct flight routes between Nigeria and Caribbean countries, saying, “We have to remove all the bottlenecks to the trade relationship between the Caribbean and Africa… With Nigeria succeeding, the rest of the black people succeed.”
Odoe also urged Nigeria to take advantage of its WTO membership to access Caribbean and Latin American markets, stating, “Nigeria is a member of the WTO, but the membership is silent because the country is not using the privileges and opportunities that will make Nigerian products available in South Latin America, the Caribbean, and others.”