(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Hon Dr Christopher Tufton, Agriculture Minister of Jamaica, Chair of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), and the Hon. Robert Persaud, Agriculture Minister of Guyana, will address the opening session of the Twenty-Seventh Special Meeting of the COTED on Agriculture tomorrow in Georgetown, Guyana.

The addresses are expected to set the tone for the one-day meeting at Le Meridien Pegasus on food security, the rising cost of living, next month’s Agriculture Investment Forum in Georgetown, and the Jagdeo Initiative.

Other items on the agenda include a review of the project promoting CARICOM/CARIFORUM food security and consideration of the work plan and budget of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM).

Regional Agriculture officials, after a full day of spirited and frank exchange of views on Monday, distilled the main issues to be put before their Ministers tomorrow. The consensus among officials is that in the context of the current food scenario, the meeting tomorrow will not be a routine meeting of Ministers responsible for agriculture. Rather, the thrust will be that different, more aggressive measures are needed to build a sustainable foundation for the agriculture sector.

The officials and regional agricultural organisations expressed their concerns on a number of issues including the need for more public and private investment in the sector, the use of land in the Community, praedial larceny, crop insurance, transportation and trade within the Region.