IICA - OECS Agreement will help to boost food production in the Eastern Caribbean
San José, 18 July 2018 (IICA). During the 38th Regular Meeting of its Executive Committee, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) signed a technical cooperation agreement that will drive initiatives to develop agriculture and rural areas in member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), which spend millions of dollars to import food.
The understanding between both entities establishes a framework for cooperation for agricultural development initiatives, such as the strengthening of value chains and agricultural health and food safety systems, the development of resilience against the impact of climate change, the use of biotechnology and innovation and the stimulation of rural development.
“Our bill for food imports is almost 1 billion dollars. We are working together to try and reduce this figure and to make agriculture a prosperous economic activity, and we believe IICA can play a key role in this process”, said Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS who signed the agreement with IICA’s Director General, Manuel Otero.
Jules commented that the agreement will elevate agriculture to a new level in the Caribbean region and emphasized that, “This is more than the signing of an agreement. This is not just a piece of paper but represents the highest level of cooperation between IICA and our countries.
It will also promote the sharing of knowledge and good practices in a bid to enhance the economic development, competitiveness and sustainability of agriculture in the Caribbean and to bolster domestic production.
The OECS is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to economic harmonization and integration, protection of human and legal rights and the encouragement of good governance among its ten member states, which include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Martinique.
Otero reiterated that integration is one of the pillars of technical cooperation and therefore, the Institute should be seen as a bridge uniting the Americas. He reflected that, “IICA must develop a closer relationship with key partners in order to accomplish its work and provide technical cooperation of excellence to its Member States, particularly to those who need it most”.
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José Alfredo Alpízar, Press and Outreach Coordinator, IICA