Proposal to implement an awareness program for young adults, to encourage them to buy

local and support local farmers.

BY:
Myah Taylor-Marshall
400018333

FOUN 1008 Introduction to Professional Writing (Section L3)

Carolyn Walkes
8 December 2023

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 Proposal to implement an awareness program for young adults, to
encourage them to buy local and support local farmers.

PROJECT BUY LOCAL

Submitted to:
Mr. Mickel Besson
Guild President
University of The West Indies Cave Hill,
Cave Hill Rd Campus, Bridgetown, St Michael

8 December 2023

Myah Taylor-Marshall - 400018333

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 Table of Contents

Summary…………………………………………………………………………….4
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………5
Purpose and Aim……………………………………………………………...........5
Scope……………….………………………………………………………………...5
The Problem of Food Insecurity in Barbados…………………………………...6
Evidence………………………………………………...…………………………...6
Causes and Effects………………………………………………………………….6
Literature Review…………………………………………………………………..7
The relationship between food insecurity and external supply chains ............7
The social impact of food insecurity……………………………………………...7
Shortage of young farmers and the way in which to prevent it……………..…7
Criteria and Rationale………………………………………………………..…….8
Proposal Details of the Awareness Campaign………………………………….9
Project Schedule……………………………………………………………………12
Credentials……………………………………………………………………..........13
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..14
Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………15

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 Summary

As a small island country that relies heavily on importations to meet the

growing food requirements of its population, Barbados is food insecure. The result
of such a high dependence on imported goods leaves Barbados vulnerable. This was
shown in recent years during the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, lockdowns
worldwide reduce the number of imported goods significantly. Along with the loss
of jobs and the reduction of income in most households during that time the
situation only got worse. Though coming out the number of persons affected by food
insecurity has reduced, there are still a great number of people experiencing it. This
proposal seeks to implement an informational awareness campaign for young adults
ages eighteen to twenty-two, who are now capable of making their own buying
decisions to support local farmers to reduce food insecurity within the island.

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 Introduction

Food insecurity is a huge problem for Barbados to have, having a population that
largely depends on imports for food makes Barbados food insecure, the country is
vulnerable.

Purpose, Aim and Scope

This proposal seeks to create an informational social media campaign to support

self-sufficiency in Barbados, with the assistance of the UWI Cave Hill Guild of
Students’ Instagram page. The aim is to increase self-sufficiency and food security in
Barbados with the use of the social media campaign and the UWI Cave Hill Guild of
Students. Spreading awareness and educating students of the importance of food
security in Barbados and what they can do to contribute to achieving it.

The Problem of Food Insecurity in Barbados

Problem Description

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Barbados was never seen as a self-sufficient country, relying on tourism as its
primary source of income and imported goods as a primary way to feed its
population. As such the problem of self-sufficiency and food insecurity was never at
the forefront of anyone’s minds. Considering recent events, that has changed, with
the lockdowns due to the pandemic from 2020 to 2022 and the war in Ukraine in
2022, each of the supply chains providing food and many other resources to
Barbados. These events have led to a wider percentage of the population
experiencing some form of food insecurity.

Causes and Effects

There are many causes and effects of food insecurity in Barbados, Figure 1 below
outlines each of them.

Figure 1. Causes and effects of food insecurity in Barbados

Literature Review

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This review focused on the overall causes of food insecurity, how it affects the
livelihood of children and adults and possible solutions such as informational
awareness programs to combat it.

The relationship between food insecurity and external supply chains

Researchers in Mexico evaluated the causes of food insecurity and food

accessibility. They saw that while food security has always been a worldwide
problem, it only gained attention after COVID 19 and the war in Ukraine interfered
with the supply chains, which consequently lead to global inflation (Martinez-
Martinez, Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez 1). Over 50 million people in Mexico
experience food insecurity, with individuals living in inhumane conditions being
hungry for days on end.

The social impact of food insecurity

With food playing a key role in one’s overall satisfaction and health the
absence of it impacts negatively on both of those (Martinez-Martinez, Gil-Vasquez,
Romero-Gonzalez 2). Persons affected by food insecurity have had a decline in their
physical and mental conditions, with persons experiencing insomnia, diabetes, and
obesity in some cases where persons overconsume unhealthy cheap items. Without
enough food to sustain them, or knowing how they will get it, some people also
experienced depression (Martinez-Martinez, Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez 2).

Shortage of young farmers and the way in which to prevent it

In discussing the causes of food insecurity, three researchers, who focused on

the role of young farmers in food security, "Young farmers have an important role as
the future of food security and sustainable agriculture depends on them” (Karahan,
Abay, Ito 1). By further conducting their study, it was found that not many young
farmers are motivated to stay in their countries and farm. Some may leave their
country and pursue other opportunities elsewhere while others may see farming to

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be an unimportant or low-class profession. To combat this, countries should bring
awareness to the importance of farming and its relation to food security and overall
well-being of the country to the younger generation. (Karahan, Abay, Ito 1).

Criteria and Rationale

As a small island country, we must be self-sufficient for our growth and

development, but many are unaware of our current situation. Over-reliance on other
countries for income, food, and a variety of other necessities is accepted as the norm.
The first step in combatting this is addressing food security, being able to have a
great level of food security can push Barbados into the right direction of achieving
self-sufficiency. In achieving it, the future generation of Barbados, must be made
aware of the importance of the situation and the power they hold to change it, by
buying locally grown food.

Proposal Details of the Awareness Campaign

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My aim is to create an informational awareness campaign on social media,
specifically, with the help of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Guild of
Students’ Instagram page. Education young adults from the ages if 18 to 22 years of
age of the importance of self-sufficiency, food security and encouraging them to buy
locally grown produce from their local farmers markets to contribute to the overall
success of Barbados becoming a self-sufficient, food secure country.

Figure 2, 3, 4. Showing young adults from various countries buying local and their farmers
markets(Courtesy of Shuttershock, Carnegie Libraries and ArtMarle)

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 Figure 5. Showing a summary of the project plan in order of execution

As seen above in Figure 5, the campaign will be executed in 4 key steps. Further details
of these steps are as follows:

1.Planning:

• A meeting will be conducted with the guild committee members, this meeting
will be held to discuss the plans of posting, specific kinds of content to be
posted for example: group videos involving students of the guild and members
of the committee, educational graphics made by either myself or with the help
of other students or member of the guild. Lastly, times for posting will also be
discussed to reduce any information overload on the Instagram page as best as
possible.

2.Creating Ideas:

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 • Following the meeting, generation of ideas for content to be posted will
commence. In consultation with members of the guild committee, the different
types of informational videos and educational graphics will be created along
with a posting schedule for each of them. Different tasks associated with
creation and planning will be delegated to participating members of the guild
and other students who wish to assist.

3.Posting:

• After planning and scheduling posting to the Guild of Student’s Instagram

page will begin January 15th,2024 through to March 15th,2024. Posts will be
made once a day every four days over that period of time. Posts will contain
information pertaining to the importance of self-sufficiency, food security and
buying locally grown produce. They will also contain information on where
local farmers markets are located, easy ways to access them and fun facts
about the area, vendors, and local agriculture.

4.Review:

• As the campaign will be ending at the end of the stipulated time period, a
post review will be conducted on all posts, updates may be made to any post
if necessary, with new information gathered during that time.

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 Project Schedule

DATE TASKS

Planning will commence in conjunction with

December 18th ,2023
the UWI Cave Hill Guild Committee

Posts will be made in intervals during this

January 15th – March 15th ,2024
period

Post Review will be conducted

March 15th ,2024

Figure 6. Showing the implementation schedule for the Buy Local Project

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 Credentials

I believe that I possess the key skills needed to contribute to the success of this
project. Through extensive research while conducting this project, I gathered a wide
variety of information about the topic and in doing so I was able to enhance my
skills in analyzing information and I have gained key knowledge of the topic. I help
my family members tend our home garden and I frequent the local farmers markets
with my family and have been doing so since a very young age.

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 Conclusion

Evidence has shown that Barbados is in fact food insecure and the need for food
security is imperative. With the assistance of the UWI Cave Hill Guild Committee
and any volunteering students, I believe this Buy Local Project can become a great
success and be that one step forward we need to ensure the sustainability of our
country and move toward self-sufficiency and food security. This project not only
requires no funding, but it also provides a sense of community in doing something
together for the betterment of the country and ourselves.

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 Works Cited
Karahan, Mizgin, et al. “Determining Factors of Retaining Young Farmers in Agriculture: A

Case Study in Turkey and Japan.” Agris On-Line Papers in Economics & Informatics,

vol. 15, no. 2, June 2023, pp. 41–54. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.7160/aol.2023.150204.

Martínez-Martínez, Oscar A., et al. “Food Insecurity and Levels of Marginalization:

Food Accessibility, Consumption and Concern in Mexico.” International Journal for

Equity in Health, vol. 22, no. 1, Sept. 2023, pp. 1–13. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01977-5.

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