Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
We must fully implement what is agreed upon – Saint Lucia’s Agri Minister
From left Irwin La Rocque, Deputy General Secretary, Caricom, Caricom Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, Saint Lucia’s Agriculture Minister Ezekiel Joseph and Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud.
Caricom’s Agriculture Ministers met yesterday at the Pegasus Hotel for the 32nd Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to discuss issues arising from the Liliendaal Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security.
Addressing the gathering as chairman, Saint Lucia’s Agriculture Minister, Ezekiel Joseph, called on his colleagues to fully implement issues they will agree on during the session. He urged ministers not to allow the session to become another talk shop. Joseph said he recognises the region has issues such as lack of technology, inadequate infrastructure, trade barriers and a host of other potential deterrents, but these should not be excuses to do nothing.
He reminded the gathering of the region’s woeful reputation as it relates to implementation. He believes for the region to move forward, bold steps have to be taken to drive the agriculture industry. Joseph noted the ideal soil type and climatic conditions of the Caribbean and questioned why the region has not become a net exporter to date. He called for that trend to be reversed saying it can start at this forum. He called on Ministers to work in the interest of the region to advance a holistic cause rather than one of a particular country.
Further, he urged Ministers to make the meeting special by taking decisions, which when the history is written, could be said to have been the turning point in agricultural development in the community. He said the region does not have the luxury of time and it must identify the bottlenecks that are stymieing its development and act now.
It was July last in Guyana that Caricom Heads of Government met at their thirtieth regular meeting and set out a road map for development of agriculture in the region. Speaking at the opening session yesterday, Caricom Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington, told the gathering the time has come for the region to realise its true potential. He said all the major players in agriculture in Caricom recognise agriculture is of strategic significance for the sustainable development of the Region, “we have identified the sector as one of the drivers of economic growth and poverty alleviation of the Community.”
Carrington noted that a number of initiatives and policies were identified but the region has not been able to transform these into accepted reality. He called on member states to remove the barriers to trading among themselves.
“We must challenge ourselves to develop the necessary protocols that would truly facilitate trade in agriculture products” He also called on the region to take into account the need to secure plant and animal health and food safety.
Speaking on behalf of the host country, Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, reminded the gathering of the food shortage that was experienced recently. He urged ministers not to become complacent and implored them to invest in their agriculture sector. He called for a transformation of the sector and support for farmers and agri-business.
Persaud warned of the catastrophic effect climate change can have on agriculture. “If we do not continue to intensify agriculture and good food production momentum, we will find out how vulnerable we are.”
The 32nd Special Meeting of COTED focusing on agriculture is the last such meeting this year. It has brought together the region’s Agriculture Ministers and related agriculture agencies regionally and locally. The trade council meets periodically to discuss trade issues affecting Caricom.
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