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| (left to right) St. Kitts and Nevis Director of Agriculture, Dr. Jerome Thomas; St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Cedric Liburd; Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) His Excellency Ambassador Albert Ramdin; St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and Secretary General of the Inter-American Institute on Agriculture (IICA), His Excellency Dr. Cheston Brathwaite. |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 5TH 2005 (CUOPM) - Development and commercial banks in the Caribbean have been challenged become a partner in the region's new thrust in agricultural development.
The challenge has come from St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas at the Opening Ceremony of the 5th Caribbean Week of Agriculture.
Prime Minister Douglas, alluding to anomalies of credit availability among the productive sectors in the several developing countries by the Director General of the Inter-American Institute on Agriculture, His Excellency Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, who in earlier remarks pointed out the agricultural sector is not receiving its fair share of the credit pie from the commercial banks in the Caribbean and Latin America, said this is an area that must be pursued vigorously in the discussions with regard to policy changes.
I only urge that from this meeting today and the sessions over the next few days we would be able to adopt a specific strategy to ensure that the commercial banks allocate more credit to the agricultural sector if we are serious about forging ahead with the new agricultural thrust in the Caribbean Region, said Prime Minister Douglas.
He told the over 150 delegates including Caribbean Ministers of Agriculture, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute on Agriculture (IICA) Dr. Chelston Braithwaite and the Assistant Secretary General of the Washington, D.C.-based Organisation of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert Ramdin, that continued dialogue is needed as the work continues in finding acceptable solutions to the very serious financial problem in agriculture.
Dr. Douglas also stressed that establishing quality standards has become extremely important in light of the increasing trend towards agro-tourism. This he said is important in an industry where travelers demand value for money.
Consistency in standards is a crucial aspect in agro-tourism. These are areas that must be worked upon diligently. I believe that Bureaus of Standards, working in collaboration with Departments of Agriculture and agricultural institutions and agencies can make significant advance. Certainly, in the case of St. Kitts and Nevis, this is an important aspect as we leave sugar production and move towards greater ties with tourism, said the St. Kitts and Nevis leader.
Prime Minister Douglas said he was pleased that this Caribbean Week of Agriculture includes an Agro-Tourism Workshop, providing a forum for dedicated discussion on the range of issues relevant to such enterprise, including the role for our traditional herbal elements, investment issues and Caribbean health foods all of which have substantial import to the development of a viable and assertive agro-tourism.
As our region moves towards a new dispensation in agriculture, we must ensure that we engage all possible techniques and mechanisms that are available, particularly with respect to technologies that can be employed in developing countries like those of our Region. The use of biotechnology has to be given serious consideration for the long-term sustainability of our agricultural sectors. Such is even more important when taken in the context of our relatively small land areas, and even smaller areas of arable land, said Dr. Douglas.
He said the Caribbean region has the ability to rise to the challenge of achieving a diversified agricultural sector, one that is capable of meeting the national needs in a sustainable manner, and one that has the potential to develop niche markets to achieve international competitiveness.
What is required is sustained commitment by all partners, a clear agenda, workable and achievable strategies and a willingness to arrive at some solutions from a perspective of strong regional structures and mechanisms. Some of this may require substantial geo-political cooperation, and it is here that I believe that the advent of the CSME the Caribbean Single Market and Economy can play the major facilitating role for such change in the region, said Prime Minister Douglas.
