Greater support needed for Agriculture, Minister Caesar tells Hemispheric meeting

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, Saboto Caesar has put forward the position that smaller states in the Americas need more support for agriculture.

“There is an urgent need for greater support to be given to Small Island Developing States, (SIDS) regarding innovative agriculture,” the minister said at the 37th Session of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean which opened yesterday, March 28 and runs until April 1, a release from the FAO states.

Caesar noted that “ without innovation, SIDs risk global marginalization as food producers. This will reduce the competitiveness of small producers, leading to greater social inequalities within countries”.

It was emphasised that the youth must be specifically targeted, and the ageing population of farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean must be supported through creative technology transfer platforms. The conference which is being held in Quito, Ecuador is serving as a moment in which the member countries will define the regional priorities to adapt and localise the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 to the conditions of Latin America and the Caribbean. During the Regional Conference, the countries will analyse the work done by FAO in the previous two years in the region and agree on recommendations for initiatives and priorities that will guide the Organisation’s work during the 2022-2023 period.

During the first two days of the conference, meetings with high-level authorities will be held during which officials will be presenting and analysing the main results obtained by the FAO and Latin America and the Caribbean during the 2020 – 2021 biennium, and also highlight priorities for the next biennium. The following days are reserved for a series of ministerial meetings during which members will exchange their experiences and process these innovations that are underway in order to show how the region is overcoming the challenge of transforming its agri-food systems and the context of the reality of each country.