The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, with support from the European Union, is holding consultations which focus on Regional Agribusiness Development Policy. The venue is the Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.All member states of CARICOM have been invited to the forum, which also sees the involvement of the private sector and various companies.A review of the Strategic Framework of the Regional Agribusiness Sector begun yesterday and concludes today, while a consultation on the Draft Caribbean Community Agricultural Policy will be held tomorrow and Friday, and will include technical advisers in agriculture ministries,Cheap Jerseys From China, representatives of producers, processors, traders and consumers. At the latter forum, participants will have an opportunity to explore and exchange ideas on the draft policy and its implementation strategy.According to Programme Manager of Agriculture and Industry in the CARICOM Secretariat, Sergio Garcia, the Secretariat is looking at the repositioning of agriculture in the economic framework for development within the region.He stressed that agriculture is not only important for economic development but also for food security, and reminded the gathering that in 2009, the CARICOM Heads of Government adopted the Liliendaal Declaration, which gives the region priority in agriculture food security, while a parallel declaration was approved called the Liliendaal Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change.Garcia noted that under the Caribbean Agriculture Policy (CAP), there will be numerous benefits from the value chain approach which is going to be a coordinated effort.The CAP is part of a broader Strategic Plan for Regional Development that pursues a single development vision for CARICOM Member States. Subsumed under the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the CAP is expected to sustain a broad-based and balanced development of the regional agriculture sector.Given the comparatively small sizes of the economies of some CARICOM Member States, it has been emphasized that closer cooperation is critical to maximise the Region’s agricultural potential to achieve food security, export earnings, rural development, the sustainability of natural resource systems, and an internationally competitive agricultural sector.Garcia explained that to really have the desired effect, the workshop has to end with meaningful results and something pragmatic “for us to be able to achieve something, because a lot of time we make policies and do studies and it goes on the shelves.Nothing happens, and we don’t take it to the next step, and I think that the private sector is one of the key partners for us to have an impact in agriculture, it is no longer the public sector.”According to Garcia, there needs to be an understanding of what the consumer wants and what the market is demanding and be able to provide that product, “because at the end of the day if it is not what the consumer wants the product would be there just sitting.”Consultant of the programme, Dr. Samuel Scott,noted that a section of the report examined the “Public Private Partnership in getting things done…we need to look at what we need to do, what can be done and what needs to come to the table, I have heard a lot of talk about policies and programmes, but I have not heard much about resources and allocation of resources to make sure that this happens, and we can do these reports and these technical assistance and studies until the cow jumps over the moon. If you do not have the resources and people who are willing to pull the trigger, you will have more studies than you have technical assistance and training.”Coordinator of the Business Agriculture Project, Nigel Durant, said that the traditional exports face deep challenges and the non-traditional exports have not replaced the revenue streams that have been provided by the traditional ones.He said the list of challenges is very long and one of the major challenges is operating in a global environment where despite the size of the business there are appropriate market niches for products both within the region and externally, “those are the hurdles we need to overcome…we have to face the fact that we are living in a changing world.”The meetings follow a series of agriculture-focused activities, including the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, and a Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) Agriculture, both held in St. George’s, Grenada late October. At the latter, Ministers with responsibility for Agriculture endorsed the draft Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security which will be presented to CARICOM Heads of Government early next year.
