Regional food security a common goal for T&T and Peru | Local Business | trinidadexpress.com

FOOD security of the population and the fight against poverty and malnutrition, as well as the well-being of health, have become one of the priorities of all countries, and world peace and sustainable development are the essential conditions to achieve food security.

Potato is a Peruvian historic contribution to world food security and peace.

According to sequenced genomic studies, around 8,000 to 10,000 and years ago, wild potatoes were domesticated by the Peruvian mountain people, who devised selection processes to eliminate toxic compounds and were able to eat potatoes boiled, baked, and mashed, as we do now.

The first Spaniards in the region, who landed in 1532 noticed Peruvian natives eating these strange, round objects and emulated them. News of the new food spread within three decades to France and the Netherlands. The first scientific description of the potato appeared in 1596 when the Swiss naturalist Gaspard Bauhin awarded it the name Solanum tuberosum.

Brought to Europe from Peru, the humble potato gave rise to modern industrial agriculture, allowing farmers to grow more crops on less land. In turn, this allowed communities to feed themselves on smaller amounts of land. Europe that simply could not reliably feed itself experienced constant famines and the potato changed all that and raised living standards. Well-fed wealthy countries are less likely to go to war than starving, poor countries.

Once potatoes were imported to the old world starting in the late 17th century, they seem to have eradicated hunger and nationwide famines and dampened conflicts for the next two hundred years.

Nowadays, it is urgent to adopt urgent strategies and measures to close the gap of the food crisis caused by the devastating effects of climate change and armed conflicts that have generated a shortage of fertilizers in the world and inflation that is mainly reflected in the price of food.

Trade restrictions and global geopolitical tensions are a serious risks to food and development prospects.

In the search for global solutions to international problems, regional unity and cooperation offer practical solutions to face the food crisis.

The Embassy of Peru yesterday co-hosted with the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce a webinar on the opportunities offered by the Peruvian supply of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables to contribute to food security in the region.

We seek to make visible the great biodiversity of food that is produced in our country and how our reasonable prices and reliable and sustainable supply can help food security in the region, especially in Trinidad and Tobago.

All new scientific studies agree that a balanced diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, has a crucial effect to keep us healthy and protect against chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, provides us with antioxidants, and can reduce ageing.

One of the great comparative advantages of Peru is that thanks to its agroclimatic conditions it is possible to have a production of these valuable foods throughout the year and we have daily flights of Copa Airlines from Lima to Trinidad and Tobago via Panama.

In the last five years, Peru maintains the highest annual growth rate in non-traditional exports in the region, with an average annual expansion of 8.8 per cent.

This result is explained by the higher shipments of agricultural products (mainly fruits), textiles, chemicals, fishing, and iron and steel.

Our non-traditional exports accumulated US$ 7,412 million in the period January-May 2023, an increase of 5.6 per cent compared to what was registered in the same period of 2022.

Last May, non-traditional exports amounted to 1,398 million dollars, an interannual increase of 0.2 per cent, explained by the higher volumes shipped (2.5 per cent), mainly agricultural, fishing, and iron and steel products.

According to main destinations, higher sales of non-traditional products were registered to Asia (South Korea) and China, basically for fishery products, and to Europe (Netherlands and Spain), for agricultural products (avocados).

In the niche of organic products, Peruvian exports of organic products exceeded 628 million dollars in 2022, the main destinations being the United States (USA), the Netherlands, and Germany.

The main organic export products were coffee, cocoa, bananas, quinoa, and ginger, among others.

Given the increase in demand for the production and export of organic products in Peru, strict certification is fundamental, since it generates trust between importing and exporting countries by ensuring that products and services have the established quality, safety, and performance specifications required for household consumption.

FOOD security of the population and the fight against poverty and malnutrition, as well as the well-being of health, have become one of the priorities of all countries, and world peace and sustainable development are the essential conditions to achieve food security.

Potato is a Peruvian historic contribution to world food security and peace.

According to sequenced genomic studies, around 10,000 and 8,000 years ago, wild potatoes were domesticated by the Peruvian mountain people, who devised selection processes to eliminate toxic compounds and were able to eat potatoes boiled, baked, and mashed, as we do now.

The first Spaniards in the region, who landed in 1532 noticed Peruvian natives eating these strange, round objects and emulated them. News of the new food spread within three decades to France and the Netherlands. The first scientific description of the potato appeared in 1596 when the Swiss naturalist Gaspard Bauhin awarded it the name Solanum tuberosum.

Brought to Europe from Peru, the humble potato gave rise to modern industrial agriculture, allowing farmers to grow more crops on less land. In turn, this allowed communities to feed themselves on smaller amounts of land. Europe that simply could not reliably feed itself experienced constant famines and the potato changed all that and raised living standards. Well-fed wealthy countries are less likely to go to war than starving, poor countries.

Once potatoes were imported to the old world starting in the late 17th century, they seem to have eradicated hunger and nationwide famines and dampened conflicts for the next two hundred years.

Nowadays, it is urgent to adopt urgent strategies and measures to close the gap of the food crisis caused by the devastating effects of climate change and armed conflicts that have generated a shortage of fertilizers in the world and inflation that is mainly reflected in the price of food.

Trade restrictions and global geopolitical tensions are a serious risks to food and development prospects.

In the search for global solutions to international problems, regional unity and cooperation offer practical solutions to face the food crisis.

The Embassy of Peru yesterday cohosted with the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce and Industry a webinar on the opportunities offered by the Peruvian supply of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables to contribute to food security in the region.

We seek to make visible the great biodiversity of food that is produced in our country and how our reasonable prices and reliable and sustainable supply can help food security in the region, especially in Trinidad and Tobago.

All new scientific studies agree that a balanced diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, has a crucial effect to keep us healthy and protect against chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, provides us with antioxidants, and can reduce ageing.

One of the great comparative advantages of Peru is that thanks to its agroclimatic conditions it is possible to have a production of these valuable foods throughout the year and we have daily flights of Copa Airlines from Lima to Trinidad and Tobago via Panama.

In the last five years, Peru maintains the highest annual growth rate in non-traditional exports in the region, with an average annual expansion of 8.8 per cent.

This result is explained by the higher shipments of agricultural products (mainly fruits), textiles, chemicals, fishing, and iron and steel.

Our non-traditional exports accumulated US$ 7,412 million in the period January-May 2023, an increase of 5.6 per cent compared to what was registered in the same period of 2022.

Last May, non-traditional exports amounted to 1,398 million dollars, an interannual increase of 0.2 per cent, explained by the higher volumes shipped (2.5 per cent), mainly agricultural, fishing, and iron and steel products.

According to main destinations, higher sales of non-traditional products were registered to Asia (South Korea) and China, basically for fishery products, and to Europe (Netherlands and Spain), for agricultural products (avocados).

In the niche of organic products, Peruvian exports of organic products exceeded 628 million dollars in 2022, the main destinations being the United States (USA), the Netherlands, and Germany.

The main organic export products were coffee, cocoa, bananas, quinoa, and ginger, among others.

Given the increase in demand for the production and export of organic products in Peru, strict certification is fundamental, since it generates trust between importing and exporting countries by ensuring that products and services have the established quality, safety, and performance specifications required for household consumption.