Entities related to Antigua and Barbuda’s agricultural sector shared their technical viewpoints to enrich the document that will guide the Institute’s cooperation actions over the next four years
St. John’s, 20 March 2018 (IICA) -- A total of twenty-five key stakeholders and partners who are directly and indirectly linked to the Antigua and Barbuda agriculture sector outlined key information that will contribute to the preparation of its Medium-term Plan 2018-2022, which will guide the work conducted by IICA for the benefit of local agriculture.
Through a survey, the stakeholders identified topics on which IICA’s work should focus, which included planning, agricultural chains, agro-tourism linkages, local and regional market access, agriculture health and food safety, Codex Alimentarius related matters, alternative energy, risk management, commodity development, efficient use of natural resources, and climate change.
Climate change and mitigation was highly identified as an activity that should be given as priority, given the fact the recent passing of Hurricane Irma and Maria which caused extensive damages to the Caribbean region affecting numerous sectors most noticeably the agriculture food security linkages.
Networking and Institutional Coordination between IICA and other agencies such as the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute (CARDI), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), were echoed by interviewees. They remarked the importance of facilitating inter-institutional and sector coordination to develop and support processes for projects in agriculture and rural development, management and monitoring, and create capabilities on institutional modernization processes.
“The overall planning and reorganizing of the agriculture sector in Antigua and Barbuda needs to be addressed, IICA could play a critical role in this process by promoting and facilitating efforts to reposition the agriculture sector and rural life, as well as strengthening the capabilities of entrepreneurs to add value to products and services and link to markets”, stated the Director of the Agriculture Lands Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs (MoLFBA), Jedidiah Maxime, in a meeting during the consultation process.
Entities added that IICA in collaboration with other regional and international institutions could also assist in the design and programme development of niche commodities within the agriculture sector in Barbuda.
The IICA’s National Specialist, Craig M. Thomas, through his interventions with stakeholders recommended the need for more planning and agro-tourism linkages in addition to the promotion and capacity building among agribusiness groups, partnerships, cooperatives, associations.
Entities such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Private Farmers, Input Suppliers, Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards, Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, CARDI and other public and private institutions, as well as the production and academic sectors, participated in the process.
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