Officials and technical specialists from Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines attended the “Regional Workshop on Agriculture in the English-speaking Caribbean”, which was held in Buenos Aires, as part of the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FO.AR) program of Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Buenos Aires, 21 November (IICA). Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation Agriculture (IICA), held a workshop in Buenos Aires to enable Caribbean officials and technical specialists in water management and agricultural health to benefit from the scientific and technological expertise of Argentinian organizations that are operating in this area.
The aim of the four-day “Regional Workshop on Agriculture in the English-speaking Caribbean” was to inform specialists from Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines about scientific and technological development activities at the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA) and the policies and actions of the Agroindustrial Secretariat and the National Service for Agri-food Health and Quality (SENASA).
During the sessions, it was agreed that a cooperation project should be developed on water and soils and agricultural health and safety, all of which were identified as priorities during the first phase of the workshop, which was held in Barbados in April.
The workshop is part of the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FO.AR) program of Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the framework of South-South cooperation, with a view to promoting knowledge, technology and best practices in water harvesting, reservoir management, pumping and management of water resources, pests and exotic diseases and phytosanitary certification protocols.
IICA provided cooperation in the development of the projects and, given its presence in all the countries of the Caribbean, agreed to collaborate and provide assistance in both the final formulation and implementation stages.
Karen Montiel, the Coordinator of IICA’s Climate Change, Natural Resources and Risk Program; Lisa Harrynanan, the Agricultural Health Specialist at IICA’s Trinidad and Tobago Office; and Edith Obschatko, Policy Specialist at IICA Argentina, attended the Buenos Aires workshop.
Also in attendance were representatives from the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), which is an organization of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that specializes in agricultural issues, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The visitors expressed their great appreciation to the Argentinian organizations for sharing their experiences and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IICA for the support provided in developing this activity.
They also remarked that the workshop, which was organized in the spirit of South-South Cooperation, was extremely timely in providing information and helping to enhance knowledge about phytosanitary systems, water harvesting and soil management.
More information:
Sonia Novello, Information and Documentation Specialist, IICA Argentina
