IICA, the ministries of Agriculture, Trade and Health, as well as producers and key stakeholders of the private sector, are working to establish this mechanism, which will facilitate continuous dialogue as well as the productive and commercial development of the cocoa sector in the Caribbean country.

Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Alejandro Bonadeo, President of APIA, signed a technical cooperation agreement to undertake joint initiatives focusing on innovation, competitiveness and the environment to boost the agriculture sector of the Americas.

The Spanish Political Scientist and Associate Specialist of the Extreme Events Institute of Florida International University (United States), delivered an address in Colombia at the XII International Forum on Territorial Development, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Study maintains that improvements in port infrastructure will foster smooth and secure trade flow of food products as well as the development of small farmers in the region.

Agricultural authorities in CARICOM, producers and international organizations believe that there is an urgent need for measures to modernize the legal framework; clear sanitary and phytosanitary regulations; political will and greater dialogue between nations, if intraregional trade is to increase.

Ministries of Agriculture and international organizations are seeking to develop varieties of micronutrient-rich foods to reduce the high incidence of conditions such as cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes in the Caribbean region.