A caucus of the OECS Council of Ministers of Agriculture was a featured event on the agenda for CARICOM’s 17th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) which was hosted from October 9 to 13, 2023 at Breezes Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.
The caucus, under the Chairmanship of Hon. Roland Royer, Minister for Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and Food Security of the Commonwealth of Dominica, marked a firm move from the conceptualization stage of the Food and Agriculture Systems Transformation (FAST) Strategy into a period of rapid implementation.
The OECS Commission launched the FAST Strategy one year ago, in October 2022, in response to CARICOM’s goal to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25% by 2025 and recognizing the urgency of ensuring food security in the region.
Prioritization of goals, detailed discussions on national strategy alignment and private sector engagement have been completed during meetings and technical exercises since the launch.
At the caucus, OECS Agriculture Ministers discussed next steps to deepen regional cooperation in this area. Ministers will report on implementation progress by the Eighth Meeting in April 2024.
The caucus was joined in the opening by the Director General of Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr. Manuel Otero.
IICA has been instrumental in progress to date on the FAST Strategy, having funded the development of the Strategy.
OECS Agriculture Ministers Urged to Move with Haste to Reduce Food Imports added by Caribbean American Weekly on
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