Dr Crispim Moreira meeting with Minister Clay Sweeting

During a weeklong visit to The Bahamas, Dr Crispim Moreira, Representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the Bahamas, met with Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs, Hon Clay Sweeting and key officials from several ministries and agencies.

These meetings aimed to discuss the progress оf сurrеnt FАО рrојесtѕ in the country аnd to support рrераrаtіоnѕ fоr thе participation of the Bahamas delegation in the uрсоmіng 37^th FАО Rеgіоnаl Соnfеrеnсе fоr Lаtіn Аmеrіса аnd thе Саrіbbеаn. The Conference is ѕсhеdulеd to take place from March 28 to April 1, 2022 in Quіtо, Есuаdоr.

Meetings were held with the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, the Ministry of Environment, the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), the Bahamas Agriculture Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA), Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Cooperation (BAIC), the UN Resident Coordinator Office in The Bahamas, the Chinese Ambassador and the Agricultural Development Organization. These meetings also included tours of local agricultural operations.

These meetings were a part of efforts to strengthen collaboration between FAO and the Government of the Bahamas and to discuss priority areas for FAO support between 2022 and 2023.

Dr Moreira said that his “visit to the Bahamas was strategic as there was a need to identify the key areas for FAO’s support in the country and how the organization could help to mobilise necessary resources to support the development of the Bahamas’ agriculture sector. ”

He added that the visit was also timely as the FAO Regional Conference was on the horizon and would “be an avenue for the Bahamas to share current innovations, analyse previous FAO work, share their priorities and agree on recommendations for regional initiatives and new priorities to guide the Organization's work during the 2022-2023 period.”

FAO’s work in the Bahamas has over the years focused on providing technical cooperation through projects and programmes that meet the country's request for support. Interventions have ranged from policy formulation to emergency assistance projects to addressing food and nutrition security across the country. Most recently, FAO has implemented projects in the country focused on emergency assistance and recovery from the impacts of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic, the school feeding programme, food and nutrition security and safety, climate change, sustainable resource management, and poverty elimination.

FAO National Correspondent for the Bahamas, Mrs Jeri Kelly-Russell, accompanied and oversaw Dr Moreira’s weeklong visit to the country.