One of those rare opportunities not to be missed takes place in Bridgetown, Barbados next month. Some 250 leaders, decision makers and agrifood actors will be gathering for the Caribbean-Pacific Agri-Food Forum. A key event for both regions, the forum will hold from November 2nd to the 6th. It will be a week laced with several key activities devoted to exploring how an agribusiness approach can drive rural development in the Caribbean and Pacific small island states.
Agriculture is a major economic feature both in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, with respect to the provision of foreign exchange and income generating earnings nationally, poverty and hunger reduction. The sector has been described as the driver of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in the region and a viable channel for creating employment opportunities.
Sadly, Agriculture is at a crossroads in the Caribbean. The end of preferential conditions for exports of traditional commodities such as bananas, sugar and rice to the European Union has affected an estimated 500,000 small-scale farmers; natural resource degradation, climate change, limited financing, heavy food import dependency and growing levels of nutrition-related diseases are additional problems. The result has been a sharp decline in agriculture's contribution to the region's Gross Domestic Production in recent years. The Pacific region shares many of the same challenges, including high food import bills, monetary and financial sector issues, diseases linked to diet and vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change.
CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) and other collaborators will through a series of technical sessions exchange experiences and outline strategies in addressing these challenges. The forum will seek to develop a well thought-out and properly articulated blueprint for spurring innovative agricultural growth and rural development in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. The outcome will serve as a charter for implementation and will be arrived at through knowledge exchange, dialogue and agreement. Equally important, it will be realistic, practicable and implementatble
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