MAJOR CHANGES will have to be implemented to revive the region's agricultural sector, says Dr. Carlos Aquino Gonzalez, Director-General of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA).
In opening the strategic meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Agriculture at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston yesterday, he said serious consideration must be given to the creation of an alliance for the sustainable development of agriculture and the rural milieu in the Caribbean.
"This full alliance should act as a catalyst to reposition agriculture...in the Caribbean. It will also serve as a critical building block for Caribbean interaction with the rest of the international community," he said.
According to the IICA boss, the region needs to embrace the entire agri-food commodity chain while incorporating direct and indirect linkages with the rural and national economy.
"From that perspective, agriculture continues to be strategic for the development of our countries, not only as a provider of food, but in the maintenance of good health, social and economic stability and the environment. We are convinced that for sustainable development of agriculture and the rural milieu, regional co-operation is vital and necessary."
Barbados' Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Anthony Wood, mirrored Dr. Aquino's sentiments. He noted that Caribbean economies have seen agriculture decline steadily in its contribution to GDP in a few decades, and have all recorded "strident calls" for the removal of more agricultural land to "more economic" uses.
These messages set the stage for the meetings to be held over the next two days among Caribbean Ministers of Agriculture who have convened for the first time to discuss an alliance for sustainable development in agriculture in the region.
The meeting of the alliance for sustainable development of agriculture and the rural milieu in the Caribbean is part of IICA's Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which ends today with the opening of the Agridevelopment Training Centre.
Yesterday's meeting was chaired by Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke; Deputy Prime Minister Seymour Mullings also gave an address, as did Byron Blake, Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM.
