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| (Left to right) St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Ms. Una May Gordon, IICA's St. Lucia-based Representative in the Eastern Caribbean States.
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BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 3RD 2005 Last week it was regional Ministers of Tourism who descended on Basseterre. This week, it's the turn of Ministers of Agriculture, who are here to attend the Fifth Caribbean Week of Agriculture.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture in the Rural Milieu is hosting the October 3rd to 5th event. It is been held under the theme: Exploring and Enhancing Opportunities for the New Agriculture.
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas has been invited to deliver the feature address at the official opening on Wednesday morning at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
Among the 150 delegates are Ministers of Agriculture from several countries including the Hon. Satydeow Sawh of Guyana, the Hon. Albert Hughes of Anguilla, the Hon. Livingstone Herbert of Nevis, the Hon. Ignatius Jean of St. Lucia, Sen. the Hon. Erskine Griffith of Barbados, the Hon. Roger Clarke of Jamaica, the Hon. Charlesworth T. Samuels of Antigua and Barbuda, the Hon. Margaret Dyer-Howe of Montserrat, the Hon. Kermech Raghoebarsing of Suriname and the Hon. Phillipe Mathieu of Haiti.
Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, His Excellency, Dr. Chelston W. D. Braithwaite and Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), His Excellency Ambassador Albert Ramdin are also attending.
St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Cedric Liburd told the Communications Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday that the Caribbean Week of Agriculture is intended as a facility for increasing the prominence of agriculture and rural life, highlighting their importance to the economy, the social infrastructure and environmental stability.
It will provide regional Ministers of Agriculture and other stakeholders an opportunity to meet, interact and continue dialogue to make the sector internationally competitive in the face of the challenges of globalisation, said Minister Liburd.
He said the selection of St. Kitts and Nevis for this year's event is particularly significant given the recent closure of the sugar industry and the need for a smooth transition to the agricultural related enterprises.
He said as with previous Caribbean Week of Agriculture activities, a major feature is the regular Alliance meeting.
The Alliance meeting will discuss several areas that are of critical importance to the development of the sector. These include agro-energy, agro-biotechnology, agro-biodiversity, agro-tourism, updates on the Jagdeo's Initiative and the dimensions of food security.
Monday the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was the venue for two important and related seminars which looked at Agriculture and Tourism Partners in Development and Leadership Development and Policy Integration for Youth in Agriculture.
Addresses were delivered by the Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Dr. Hansjorg Neun; Secretary General opf the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Mr. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace; St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of State with responsibility for Tourism, the Hon. Richard Skerritt and the Minister of Housing, Agriculture, Fisheries and Consumer Affairs, the Hon. Cedric Liburd, who gave the Feature Address and declared the workshops open.
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by IICA Coordinator for St. Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Augustine Merchant.
