Photo: Courtesy of CWA Website

The 15^th Caribbean Week of Agriculture brought together countries from across CARICOM for five days of discussions, engagement, and expeditions all geared towards “Strengthening Agriculture for a Healthier Future in the Region.”

FAO was among the agencies from the Caribbean that participated in the event and brought attention to its national school feeding programmes and disaster risk management projects amongst other areas of work in the region. Recommendations were made regarding work being done by FAO and other agencies to improve the coconut and small ruminants industries as well as engaging youth in agriculture.

During the conference, countries raised a number of concerns relating to agricultural trade in the Caribbean. One of the highlights followed recommendations from a study commissioned by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) focusing on the “Removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB) to Intra-Regional Trade in Agricultural Products”. Some of the recommendations included the need to adopt a multi-dimensional approach to the harmonization of standards, legislative reformation and the development of a more effective and flexible framework for addressing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) related matters. The meeting alluded to the need for a systematic dismantling of NTBs within CARICOM and for further inter –country dialogue to encourage intra-regional trade as a mechanism for strengthening agriculture in the region.

Other presentations from the private sector highlighted the opportunities for intra-regional trade, stressing the need for increased market access for Caribbean products. Presenters echoed views on the opportunities available within the region for greater interaction between producers and exporters within the food production system but that this was often hampered by existing limitations such as transportation.

The Caribbean Week of Agriculture was held in Barbados from October 8-12, 2018 and welcomed hundreds of agriculture stakeholders including academia, policy makers, technical experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, agro-processors, manufacturers, students and other food and agriculture enthusiasts.

For more information on the event, please visit the 15^th CWA Website.