Caribbean ministers of Agriculture endorsed IICA’s technical cooperation agenda in the region, which seeks to support countries’ efforts to transform agriculture and guarantee food and nutritional security while reducing food imports.
Caribbean senior agricultural officials participated in a meeting with the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, which was carried out within the framework of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2023 in Nassau, Bahamas.
During the meeting, Otero explained that IICA supports efforts to enhance the Caribbean region’s resilience to climate change, foster regional trade and integration, and advance towards a new technological frontier, especially with respect to digital agriculture.
Participating in the meeting were the ministers of Agriculture of Jamaica, Floyd Green; Dominica, Roland Royer; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saboto Caesar; Belize, José Abelardo Mai; Saint Lucia, Alfred Prospere; and Saint Kitts and Nevis, Samal Duggins.
Also in attendance were David Comissiong, Barbados Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Sandra Joseph, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs; Aaron Francois, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries and Cooperatives of Grenada; and Reginald Severin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy of Dominica.
David Prendergast, CARICOM Secretariat Director of Sectoral Programs, and Crenston Buffonge, Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and Environment of Montserrat, also took part.
During the meeting, Otero highlighted the consolidation of a special fund for food security and sustainable development in the Caribbean.
He also referred to IICA’s role as a bridge between countries of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa that strengthens linkages between the regions.
To that end, the Institute made available to the ministers of Agriculture its 14 national offices and technical team of more than 30 professionals in the region.
The Director General underscored the importance of a recent agreement signed by IICA and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) to contribute to a financing fund to support key technological actions in the region.
Otero also emphasized the importance of coordinated work with other international agencies in the region, to guarantee food security and sustainable development in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Week of Agriculture has been jointly organized by IICA and CARICOM since 1999.
Mari Dunleavy, IICA Representative in The Bahamas and advisor to the Director General, as well as Curt Delice, IICA Representative in Suriname and Special Affairs Coordinator for the Caribbean Region, also attended the meeting.
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