We are not begging! That’s the word from Programme Manager, Culture and Community Development at the CARICOM Secretariat Dr. Hilary Brown in her remarks at a Reparations Rally held at the Derek Walcott Square in Castries Saint Lucia on Saturday. The event was preceded by a Reparations relay that was anchored by three time Olympian Levern Spencer.
While work has been done to articulate the vision for agriculture in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a senior CARICOM Secretariat officials wants the Region to develop a regional strategic plan for agriculture.
Mr. Joseph Cox, Assistant Secretary-General, Trade and Economic Integration at the CARICOM Secretariat stressed that the Region had to treat agriculture as a business and not as a tool for social engineering for excess labour. The Community needed to become competitive in agriculture, he pointed out.
The region’s statisticians are today holding their ninth Regional Statistical Research Seminar geared towards developing key recommendations on the way forward for matters related to statistics.
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Oct. 27, 2016 – Stakeholders in the regional agricultural sector have been urged to take “a big view of agriculture” as Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations continue to highlight the importance of food production to its economic and social development.
The CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the St. Lucia National Reparations Commission (NRC) will be hosting three reparations themed events in observance of October as Creole Heritage Month.
The Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the top policy and decision-making arm of the CARICOM agency, is meeting today in Grand Cayman for its 6th Special Meeting. The meeting is being held as part of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which is being hosted in Cayman under the theme, “Investing in Food and Agriculture.”
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Demerara Waves – As the demand across the Caribbean grows for bottled coconut water, the Executive Director of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Barton Clarke says the major challenge would be sufficient planting material.
“The major constraint is going to be adequate amount of appropriate planting material given that we have to treat with three or four major international pests and diseases which attend on coconut,” he told a news conference at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture being held in the Cayman Islands.
As air transportation continues to be an important area of focus for the Region, the CARICOM Secretariat participated in the latest Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which establishes policy and reviews technical, economic and legal areas of the Organisation’s work.
There are important investment roles for both the public and private sector in the Region’s quest to be competitive, for import substitution, alleviation of food security risks and for increased contribution to economic development.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2016 in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said the opportunities were there for those who were willing to take it.
His Excellency Franz Manderson, Acting Governor of the Cayman Islands
Honourable Alden McLaughlin Premier, Cayman Islands;
Honourable Ministers of the Caribbean Community
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Honourable Matai Seremaiah Nawalu - Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity, Vanuatu;
Mr. Victor Villalobos – Director-General, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA);