I’m very happy to hitch you for this Opening Ceremony of the seventeenth Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), one of many premier actions on the Area’s agriculture calendar. That is the primary reside staging of the CWA in six years and we’re understandably enthusiastic in regards to the Week forward.
On behalf of the Caribbean Group (CARICOM), I categorical appreciation to the Authorities and Individuals of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, who’re so graciously internet hosting us. I additionally acknowledge the establishments and members of the varied planning committees to your mixed collaborative efforts to stage this occasion. This collaboration augurs properly as we work collectively to rework our agriculture right into a sustainable, productive and aggressive sector, producing wholesome meals for everybody.
This 12 months’s theme, “Accelerating Imaginative and prescient 25 by 2025”, reinforces the Area’s ongoing dedication to meals and diet safety, agricultural growth, funding and innovation. For the reason that launch of the 25 by 2025 Initiative in 2018, there have been a number of notable programmes and achievements throughout the Area, even with the delays attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Member States have been working to create an enabling atmosphere for inclusive, resilient agriculture and meals sectors. Efforts have been made to extend funds allocations, and assist digitization and innovation, local weather change adaptation and regional funding, particularly in area of interest high-value commodities.
This Week’s actions have been designed to deliver collectively key regional decision-makers from each the private and non-private sectors, in order that stakeholders within the agriculture and associated sectors can proceed to forge and advance a standard imaginative and prescient. Technical classes will deal with fastidiously chosen matters, similar to animal and plant well being, meals security, fisheries, analysis, innovation, digitization, youth and girls involvement, local weather change and commerce facilitation. They are going to present insights to tell methods and tasks to facilitate the expansion of agriculture within the Area. We invite your lively participation in all of the classes.
The Commerce Present is targeted on growing business-to-business engagements, and extra-regional buying and selling alternatives for micro, small and medium, in addition to, giant agri-businesses and companies inside the Area.
On Friday, Ministers of Agriculture will deal with main coverage points, similar to growing agricultural manufacturing and commerce, agricultural well being, and meals security throughout the Particular Assembly of the Council for Commerce and Financial Growth (COTED) – Agriculture.
As a Area, we now have been intentional about growing engagement with susceptible teams. Of specific significance would be the half-day Youth dialogue which can present a discussion board for direct engagement with this key demographic, and engender much more options for innovation and sustainability within the agricultural sector.
We’re working collectively in the direction of discovering options to the challenges of transportation, agriculture financing and insurance coverage, that are essential to the event of the sector. Actions are being taken to facilitate intra-regional commerce by addressing animal well being and meals security, laws, and administrative practices. All in all, basic groundwork is being laid to fast-track further successes.
Girls and gents, we are actually on the midway level of our 25% by 2025 Initiative. Presently, we can’t afford to lose sight of our goal. We should leverage the agriculture sector to empower farmers and meals producers, and particularly our ladies, younger folks, and rural communities. We should scale back the Area’s rising meals import invoice, and guarantee meals and diet safety for future generations of our Area.
Our expectation is that the engagements from this Week will additional advance regional priorities, and emphasise the Area’s vigorous dedication to meals and diet safety.
I want all stakeholders – producers, patrons, authorities officers, Regional Establishments, growth companions, and farmers, particularly younger farmers – a really profitable Week.
Thanks, women and gents.
