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Hon Livingston Herbert (3rd from left), Jr Minister of Agriculture responding to brief remarks from Dr. Chris Hoffman (left), representative of USDA giving brief response, with Ms Margaret Kalloo, representative of CARICOM and Mr. Bisessar Chakalall, representative of FAO-SLAC sitting at the head table. |
Charlestown Nevis (November 1, 2004) The 11th Conference of the Amblyomma Programme Council of the Caribbean Amblyomma Programme was officially opened on Monday, at the Oualie Beach Hotel, after a brief delay that had been occasioned by the inclement weather.
The conference saw delegates from Anguilla, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Italy, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Guyana and host country, Nevis along with several representatives of donor agencies in agriculture.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Junior Minister of Agriculture, the Hon Livingston Herbert noted that it was his belief that if everyone could become involved with the control of the tropical bon tick, then the successes and achievements, which had been experienced so far, would be tremendous.
He said, “If we look beyond what we have done so far, look beyond what we have achieved, because truly, the CAP rests in terms of its execution, with the ministries of agriculture, but it impacts the entire countries wherever we are. It has implications for the entire country.”
The Agriculture Minister, who spoke passionately about the control of the tropical bon tick, hinted that the consideration of how best one can improve the populace of the territories in the control of the bon tick could be part of the discussions.
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A cross section of visitors and delegates to the 11th Meeting of the Amblyomma Programme Council. |
“Perhaps, what I am suggesting is an extension approach where by we bring all forces to play,” said Minister Herbert. “We benefit from the experiences of the extension officers and the community officers, so the message that would come from us, of the need to control the tropical bon tick, would become household driven and I believe with that the success that we have experienced, certainly will multiply tremendously.”
The Amblyomma Programme Council (APC) is expected to last over the next two days, where several countries will report on eradications, CARICOM/CAP, FWI, and Viewing of the FAO-GIIM CD/video on the Antigua Programme.
Communication Officer, Agriculture Department Mr. Eric Evelyn brought greetings on behalf of the Director of Agriculture, Mr. Samuel Powell who was unable to attend the ceremony because of illness. He also officially welcomed all to the gathering and told the officials that the island of Nevis had more to offer than the rain, which had been pouring then.
Ms Margaret Kalloo, Senior Project Officer, Agricultural Development, CARICOM Secretariat, in giving a brief response, noted that it was her delight to be related with the CAP. She noted that in moving the CAP forward as we looked at where we are, “the development of CARICOM Single Market and Economy becomes very, very important.”
She said, “We would all know, we are moving towards a state of play among our 15 member states, where trade is supposed to be opened up, and where we all start from a particular level, where our laws, legislations and those kinds of infrastructural developments are taking place so that we can trade evenly and fairly.”
Mr. Bisessar Chakalall, Sub-Regional representative, FAO-SLAC and Dr. Chris Hoffman, US Department of Agriculture also gave brief remarks. IICA representative, Mr. Augustine Merchant, FAO representative, Dr. Keith Archibald, and Mr. Chang of the Mission of Taiwan, attended the ceremony.
