IICA concludes participation in Caribbean Week with the presentation of its results

Antigua, October 19, 2012 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) concluded an important stage in its participation in the Caribbean Week of Agriculture with a presentation, to the Ministers of Agriculture of the Caribbean, on the results of its projects carried out in the region, and the initiatives on the drawing board.

The Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos, also met with the Prime Minister of the host country, Antigua and Barbuda, Winston Baldwin, to give him an overview of the cooperation that the Institute offers.

“The situation with regard to food security, poverty, and hunger in Antigua and in the Caribbean is critical, and in this scenario agriculture has a vital role to play. Therefore, we are grateful for the work that agencies like IICA carry out to tackle these problems,” Baldwin emphasized during the meeting.

For their part, the Ministers were satisfied with the report on IICA’s results presented by Villalobos and mentioned two issues they regard as a priority for the region.

The first was the financial situation of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). They pointed out that the entity was in a critical financial situation and needed to secure more resources in the short term and in a sustained manner.

In light of these problems, Villalobos pledged to work with CARDI to seek resources from international entities and to find ways of making the organization financially self-sufficient. He also promised he would not allow CARDI’s program of work on behalf of countries in the region to be affected.

The second issue was the creation of the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), for which they also requested IICA’s support.

The Ministers also expressed interest in two projects that IICA will be implementing with CARDI and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with funds from the European Union.

One of them will focus on sanitary and phytosanitary standards, including a fisheries component, with total financing of 11.7 million Euros. The other is for the development of public policies, and will cost 8.6 million Euros. IICA will serve as the executing entity in both cases.

Harvesting prosperity

The Director General of IICA stated that his aim in presenting his organization’s results to the Ministers was to document the “attention I have paid to the commitments I assumed with you directly, at both the regional level and in response to direct requests from the countries.”

In his speech, he noted that IICA’s Offices in its 14 Caribbean Member States were implementing 43 projects.

These included capacity development efforts in value chains, agro-exports, agro-industry and agro-tourism, in support of 160 producers and 50 Caribbean organizations.

The Institute had also assisted with the formulation of a regional strategy and plan of action for agro-tourism.

In the area of innovation, Villalobos referred to the cooperation offered to the countries for the development of their regulatory frameworks in biotechnology and biosafety, as well as the establishment of over 40 greenhouses and the implementation of 14 projects aimed at strengthening national innovation systems.

“IICA has also contributed to the modernization of agricultural health and food safety systems in Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados, and the Bahamas, and systems for responding rapidly to pests in crops and plants,” Villalobos added.

Another of the achievements highlighted was the support provided to the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CANROP) and the Caribbean Agricultural Forum for Youth (CAFY) for capacity development in the areas of agribusiness, rural well-being, and the diversification of production.

Villalobos pointed out that the Institute was working on a project to strengthen national capabilities for coping with climate change, and in the same area had supported the establishment of a biodigester in Antigua and Barbuda that will be used to train producers in alternative energy generation.

The Director General of IICA referred to the work carried out in Haiti with the Pro-Huerta project, which has afforded more than 13,000 families access to food they harvest themselves.

“We need to work together to give agriculture the place it deserves in the economic and social development of the Caribbean,” he concluded.

For more information, contact:
victor.delangel@iica.int
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