Stakeholders knock heads in SVG on sustaining agriculture in the Caribbean

After the virtual launch of Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) 2024 on June 14, 2024, St Vincent and the Grenadines was struck by a devastating hurricane just 16 days later.

This caused significant damage to agriculture, including the destruction of 98 per cent of the country’s bananas and plantains, as well as hundreds of fishing boats.

“Our nation was taken to the brink of food insecurity,” said Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Ceasar at the start of the 38th edition of Caribbean Week of Agriculture on Monday, October 7,2024 at the UWI Open Campus at Richmond Hill, Kingstown.

Over the October 7-11 exercise agriculture stakeholders from across the region are engaging in workshops and other sessions focussing on enhancing the Region’s food food security.

The theme, ‘Climate Smart Agriculture for a Sustainable Future’ is relevant as countries like St Vincent and the Grenadines work to recover from the impact of Hurricane Beryl.

Caesar announced that on Thursday, October 10, 2024, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), will sign onto the Climate Smart Agriculture Compliant (CSAC) platform, which is an integrated approach to landscape management, encompassing cropland, livestock, forests, and fisheries. It is also designed to tackle the challenges of food security and climate change.

The minister also underscored the importance of the education system including agriculture programmes from preschool to tertiary levels that would include specific areas of climate change.

“This is not the time for anyone to be asking whether we drop Agriculture Science as a subject, but we must use the exigencies of our time to encourage more study in agriculture and fisheries at all levels.” The CWA provides a forum for the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors within the Region to highlight the importance of agriculture and rural life to the economic, social, and

environmental stability of CARICOM Member States, and also affords the major stakeholders in Agriculture and related sectors to have an opportunity to forge a common vision for the

development of agriculture and the enhancement of rural life.

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr Carla Barnett, delivering remarks at Monday’s opening, stressed the need for CARICOM countries to identify and embrace new strategies, technologies and techniques, as well as the importance of navigating the environment affected by climate change to increase agricultural production, productivity and incomes in a sustainable manner.

She also noted the significance of this 38th Caribbean Week of Agriculture event in the context of CARICOM’s regional strategy to reduce food import growth by 25 per cent by 2025.

“ We will not stop beyond 2025, we’re going to sit, take stock, renew our efforts to increase even further and set new targets as we move ahead.”

Barnett welcomed increased investments, knowledge sharing and partnerships, which she said are crucial in taking full advantage of the opportunities for climate-smart agriculture.

In his keynote address, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves again appealed for reparative measures rather than loans, in addressing climate change, restating that SVG has contributed little to global warming but is carrying the burdens of its impact.

Gonsalves stressed the need for equity and reiterated that developed nations should step in and deal with the problem to which they have contributed.