SVG to host regional agriculture workshop

A GROUP of over 40 young people from 14 Caribbean countries will meet here in St Vincent and the Grenadines this week to discuss “Policies for Improved Business Efficiency in Agriculture for the Youth”.{{more}}

The main objectives of the regional workshop, which will run from June 19 to 21 are: To improve participants’ understanding of the concepts, factors and requirements for improved business efficiency in agricultural value chains and to articulate a common policy position, including concrete recommendations, for a more enabling environment for young people in agri-business.

The workshop will feature presentations and debates on policy dimensions of agriculture business efficiency in various Caribbean countries.

Case studies will be presented, based on practical experience and best practices with youth initiatives, as well as removing barriers to youth participation in business.

The official opening ceremony will be held at Frenches House tomorrow, starting at 9 a.m., and the workshop will be declared open by Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar.

In October 2012, during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture endorsed the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) project for “Promoting Youth and Rural Modernization Policies in the Caribbean”. The one year project, funded by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA ACP_EU), seeks to contribute to the effective implementation of the CARICOM Agricultural Policy (CAP). Most specifically, it targets the CAP fourth pillar: Youth and Rural Modernization.

Several activities have already taken place which included a Regional Youth Policy Forum held in Antigua and Barbuda during CWA 2012 and several national multi-stakeholders youth consultations. All activities were aimed at getting inputs from Caribbean youths to be included in an overall report and plan of action to be submitted to COTED and CARICOM in October 2013.

The workshop is organized and coordinated by CaFAN’s secretariat, the Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture and Development Organisation (ECTAD), located at Beachmont, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.