By Carmine Paolo De Salvo, Rachel Boyce, Ivette Fis de Melo Latin America and the Caribbean contribute 11% of the value of world food production and possess 24% of the arable land in the world. Open data is a powerful source of information that can help in making decisions and formulating policies to foster the development of the agricultural sector, and consequently to help … [Read more...] about How does open data help the agricultural sector?
Social Systems
“Fat Tax” – A Pause for Concern
A recent proposal for the introduction of a “fat tax” in Barbados has raised the noise level on the obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCD) debate in Barbados as well as health-related issues on a wider level. This debate has been largely emotional as the loudest voices at times ignored that the proposal was really for a tax on the foods that contribute to unhealthy living … [Read more...] about “Fat Tax” – A Pause for Concern
Three ways the Caribbean can strengthen financing for private companies
Growing up in The Bahamas, I remember my grandmother’s asue. There weren’t any banks where she lived on the island of Inagua, and even if there had been, it wasn’t customary for women to frequent them. To adapt, women (and sometimes men) formed their own informal savings groups, known as asues. As her group’s custodian, my grandmother collected a weekly contribution from … [Read more...] about Three ways the Caribbean can strengthen financing for private companies
What Does Parenting Have to do with Crime and Violence in the Caribbean?*
by Heather Sutton, Inder Ruprah and Ricardo Sierra Most Caribbean governments now acknowledge that prevention should be used in conjunction with “tougher” crime suppression and deterrence measures. So why does prevention get so little attention and even fewer resources? There is a common misconception that crime requires urgent solutions and prevention can take too long and … [Read more...] about What Does Parenting Have to do with Crime and Violence in the Caribbean?*
Can Private Sector Innovation Provide an Adequate Solution to Haiti’s Poor?
dlo Haiti delivering water to a small shop (Ovive is dlo’s brand) Port Au Prince, Haiti, March 7-10, 2016 - Haiti is the poorest country in the continent, and an unresolved development riddle. Thanks to humanitarian aid and debt forgiveness the country has grown at an average rate of 3.8%[1] since the devastating 2010 earthquake. However, poverty continues to afflict over 58% … [Read more...] about Can Private Sector Innovation Provide an Adequate Solution to Haiti’s Poor?