Ms. Carmen Nurse is the new President of CANROP.
Castries, Saint Lucia. (IICA). The month of June saw history being made when women from the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CANROP) convened a special general meeting to elect a new Board of Directors. The historical aspect of the event was a result of the meeting being held virtually and elections conducted using anonymous online voting technology.
One month before, the Network had convened its Annual General Meeting which was also conducted virtually. Members agreed at the meeting that voting would take place on the 6th June, 2018 and that revised by-laws would be ratified. On election day, the by-laws were adopted by the members and the elections successfully took place. The election process was administered by Mr. Allister Glean, International Specialist in Agribusiness and Value Chains of the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
From the inception, IICA has supported the Network through which much of its development programmes targeted at women are administered. CANROP, which comprises dynamic rural women agricultural producers and women producer groups, seeks to improve the livelihood of women in the Region through training, cultural exchange, networking and trade promotion. This non-profit organization, incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago, comprises chapters in ten Caribbean countries with ongoing efforts to expand to the other countries. The Network is the voice of women in agriculture across the Region and is a member of the Alliance of Ministers. It is through this membership in the Alliance of Ministers of Agriculture that much of the advocacy work is undertaken by the Network. In addition, members of the Network participate in various international fora, including organs of the United Nations.
Despite the challenge of the membership of CANROP spanning the various countries of the Region, the Network has remained resolute and resilient, committed to achieving its goals. The ratifying of the revised by-laws and elections of the Board were major goals for 2018.
The results of the elections are as follows:
- President- Carmen Nurse (Saint Lucia)
- Vice President- Martha Hanna-Smith (The Commonwealth of the Bahamas)
- Secretary- Vanessa Wallerson (Guyana)
- Treasurer- Tamisha Lee (Jamaica)
- Regional Board Members- Dauphine Cato (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Cheryl Samuel (Antigua & Barbuda), Christina James (Guyana) and Ms. Gloria Cave (Barbados). Two other Members are to be added from the Bahamas and Jamaica.
- PRO- The Public Relations Officer would be appointed by the Board (as per the revised by-laws) at the first meeting of the Board. The nominees are Patricia Green (Bahamas), Ms. Vanessa Wong (Guyana), Ms. Saran King (Antigua & Barbuda) and Kerene Walker (Jamaica).
The Secretariat of CANROP is located in the IICA Delegation in St. Lucia, 4th Floor, Sir Stanislaus James Building, Waterfront, Castries. The office can be contacted at 758-451-6760-1.
