United States hosted agricultural technicians to help improve capacities in topics such as irrigation and nutrient management, biotechnology and precision agriculture.
Antigua and Barbuda. Two technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture Lands Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs benefited from a 10-day study tour in the United States, an experience that will help them improve their abilities to compete in the global market and assist farmers in their day-to-day operations.
The technicians participated in the International Training Program and Study Tour on Technology Advances in Agricultural Production, Water and Nutrient Management, from August 22 to September 2, 2016.
The tour was facilitated by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), under the 10th EDF EU-funded project entitled Agriculture Policy Programme (APP), executed with support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
The workshop was designed for innovative farmers, agronomists, soil scientists, researchers and extensionists from national and international agricultural research institutes and universities, as well as policymakers from governments and ministries in charge of agricultural productivity and planning. Representing Antigua and Barbuda were Ika Fergus, Extension Officer and Vanessa Prophet, Research Officer,.
The technicians were exposed to an intensive and interactive program which offered exceptional highlights and features including:
- International faculty from IFDC, leading U.S. agricultural producers and other international experts.
- Diverse and participatory activities based on training activities, key lectures and films.
- Written training materials for permanent reference.
- Eight-and-a-half days of field visits to observe recent advances in irrigation and nutrient management, biotechnology and precision agriculture, and one-and-a-half days of classroom-style presentations and discussion opportunities.
Prophet and Fergus commented that they had learnt a lot from each other: “We have things in common and things that are different”. They also reported that the presenters were very knowledgeable in their subject areas.
Upon return, one of the commitments was that both beneficiaries will present highlights of the study tour to their colleagues, farmers, the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute (CARDI and IICA officials.
IICA is the Agency for the Caribbean Action of the APP, while the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) was instrumental in this study tour.
In implementing the Caribbean Action, CARDI is partnered with IICA and the CARICOM Secretariat (CCS) to enhance the capacity of Regional Agricultural Development Organizations to address the developmental needs of smallholder agriculture.
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