Region focuses on agriculture during week-long activities in Belize

The creation of wealth through agriculture will be one of the key topics for discussion when the Regional Planners’ Forum on Agriculture gets underway in Belize City, Belize, at the end of September.

The event is geared at advancing discussions and building cooperation on matters of importance to boosting agriculture in the region.

The week of activities will commence with the 12th Regional Agriculture Planners Forum, 30 September-1 October, under the theme ‘Capitalising on the new frontier in global agriculture’.

Among the key issues slated for discussion are ICT and agriculture; cannabis and agriculture; the regional sugar industry and climate change and agriculture. Emphasis will also be placed on women and youth in agriculture and the blue economy.

The week-long activities will include a special meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). There will also be meetings involving CARICOM Institutions, including the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA).

There will also be the second joint high level CRFM and SICA/OSPECA Ministerial Meeting.

The CARICOM Secretariat is organising the event with support from the Government of Belize, CARICOM Institutions, and other partners such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).

Source: CARICOM TODAY