Entities related to the islands’ agriculture sector shared their technical viewpoints to enrich the document that will guide the Institute’s cooperation actions over the next four years.
Kingstown, 23 March 2018 (IICA). A total of 24 stakeholders related to St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ agriculture sector met in Kingstown, in order to contribute to the preparation of the Institute’s 2018-2022 Medium-term Plan (MTP). The MTP will guide the work conducted by this international organization for the benefit of agricultural development in the hemisphere.
The meeting participants identified the main topics on which IICA’s work should focus, highlighting climate change, environmental management, sustainable use of natural resources, increased productivity and competitiveness in agriculture, marketing and trade in agricultural goods, food security, strengthening of regional/hemispheric integration processes, and rural transformation.
During their deliberations, the stakeholders stressed that IICA’s international reputation positions the Institute as an ideal catalyst for forging new relationships between local institutions and agricultural institutions across the hemisphere, in order to support the sector’s development agenda, particularly in least developed countries of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region.
The participants also agreed that, at the national level, the Institute is well positioned to transfer knowledge for agricultural development and to build consensus among stakeholders with various interests in relation to agricultural development.
“Agriculture is a business that must be driven by entrepreneurship with a defined focus on productivity. We must seek to maximize the returns for every square foot of land we cultivate. IICA must play a role in this process,” stated the Chief Agricultural Officer, Ashley Cain.
The Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, stated that the participants’ recommendations would be crucial in the development of a road map aimed at meeting country needs.
“When we understand the way our countries think and what their priorities are, we are able to efficiently target and distribute our resources, while working together to address national demands. This process guarantees IICA’s institutional strengthening moving forward,” he stated.
On the other hand, Diego Montenegro, Director of Management and Regional Integration of IICA, stated that the participatory preparation of the new MTP began with an internal consultation process involving Institute personnel. The second phase consists of a broad consultation process with counterparts that work with IICA’s Delegations.
“In addition to the consultation processes currently underway in each of the Member States, we have identified the Delegations that work closely with the regional integration mechanisms, and have requested their input in order to develop the MTP’s regional scope,” he stated.
This consultation process was carried out in all 34 member countries of IICA to ensure that all stakeholders have an opportunity to contribute to the preparation of the MTP, which must be ratified by the Executive Committee of IICA later this year.
More information:
Michael Dalton, Technical Specialist at the IICA Delegation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
