Brasilia, 21 October 2025 (IICA) – Jamaican farmer Duhaje Jennings, who has been a beekeeper since a very young age and is now, at 38, one of the most recognized entrepreneurs in his country and across the Caribbean in this sector, will participate in the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2025.
Jennings will travel to Brasília, where the meeting will take place from November 3 to 5, invited by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which this year named him one of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas. The recognition highlights Jennings as a positive example in the continent’s countryside —a key player for food and nutrition security and the planet’s environmental sustainability— thanks to his passionate work.
At the conference, organized by Brazil together with IICA, ministers and other senior officials will discuss the current state and future of agriculture and food security in the Americas, with particular emphasis on the ongoing transformations and the role of science, technology and innovation.
IICA has invited four Leaders of Rurality of the Americas from different regions of the continent to share, in person, the realities of their rural communities with the ministers.
A lifelong passion
As a child, Jennings would visit his grandfather, who was a beekeeper, and thus fell in love with bees. At 18, he began his own venture with five bee colonies, and since then his growth has been remarkable. Today, he develops around one thousand colonies per year for his own business and for clients. He owns his own company, Dada B’s, through which he creates jobs and helps other Jamaicans enter the world of beekeeping and agriculture.
Jennings has high expectations for his participation in the conference. One of the topics he plans to raise with the ministers is the need to include agriculture in school curricula.
“Given that food security is a priority in most countries, why not make agricultural education mandatory in schools, especially at the secondary level? In Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean, the need to strengthen our agriculture is critical. Just as students must learn mathematics or English, they should also learn agriculture. I believe this is the only real way we can begin to address food security in the region”, he explained.
Although the Caribbean countries have made significant progress in productivity and resilience in recent years, they remain dependent on food imports, and their agricultural sectors are vulnerable to increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
Duhaje also believes in expanding opportunities for Caribbean farmers to gain experience abroad through exchange programs that promote learning across the Americas.
“It would be extraordinary if 20, 50 or even 100 farmers from each country could travel, for example, to Brazil, which has achieved excellent results in agriculture. Those who travel can learn and reflect on the opportunities that exist to improve agriculture in their own countries”, said the beekeeper.
Carlos Fávaro, Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply, will open the conference in Brasília together with IICA Director General Manuel Otero. The event will include technical discussion forums among ministers and national delegations, with the participation of private-sector companies and organizations.
In addition, Brasília will host the 23rd Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), which convenes every two years and serves as IICA’s highest governing body.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
