OECS Member Countries are being urged to review and enhance the level of investment in the vital Agriculture Sector. Agriculture and Tourism are deemed the most critical sectors that sustain the human resources and economies of the OECS.

Addressing a recently staged Symposium on Agriculture in Dominica the OECS Secretariat’s Agriculture Economist, George Alcee shared his conviction that there is insufficient investment in Agriculture in the region.

Alcee told the delegates agriculture has suffered at the expense of other sectors:“We really have not invested adequately in the sector and that is throughout the OECS both at the macro and micro levels. For when agriculture generated much of our foreign exchange earnings we invested in other sectors. We incurred debt to build the urban sector and agriculture paid the bills, we did not reinvest in the relevant research and development required to diversify and expand the sector, and we did not invest in our family resources at the farm level to ensure succession, instead we trained them to become lawyers, doctors and to pursue other professions. Now agriculture has become relatively less important in the economies of member states. This largely reflects the decline in traditional products such as  sugar and bananas. This is mirrored in the National Accounts where in all the Member States, agriculture’s relative importance has declined to single number digits except for Dominica where the contribution stood at 17% in 2005.”

Alcee advised that the constraints yet to be adequately addressed are identified in the OECS Strategic Action Plan and the wider regional Jagdeo Initiative.“Many difficult choices face the OECS governments regarding development and structural change of the agricultural sector. In formulating our policies and work plans the lessons of the past need to be considered. These lessons include:

• The inadequacies of incentive and support systems, particularly as these relate to agricultural diversification.

• The need to tailor solutions to address the particular and specific needs of the different segments that comprise the farming community.
• The conflicts between external trade and agricultural policies that inadvertently reduced agricultural competitiveness.
• The passive approach to natural resource management and the limited commitment to common action.Ultimately, success depends on policies that empower individuals by providing support and encouragement for the development of business acumen and assisting the private sector to lead in the translation of innovative ideas into working and practical realities.”

The OECS Secretariat Officer added that the OECS Ministers and the Authority have approved a market driven agribusiness private sector led approach to agricultural development for the OECS. He furthered that the programme has been prepared and is to be reviewed and discussed with the directors of agriculture and extension shortly.

A major outcome of this program will be the institutional modernisation of the sector for better governance.
Alcee signaled that as the region seeks to pursue this new agenda one must be mindful of the emerging developments in international trade and the adjustments to be made.
“Trade preferences are being eroded, tariff revenues face the prospects of decline, and most of all our competitiveness is declining. The banana industry for instance did not adequately respond to the shifting trends in the global environment but now as a result of the adverse impact on the industry the acronym WTO is known by almost every farmer in the region..We must not operate in a vacuum, we must consider all the issues of multilateral trade. We must pursue agricultural policies that are supportive of our development goals, including poverty reduction strategies and other varied needs of domestic policy.”

Alcee(first from right)  insisted that technocrats at institutional levels monitor closely the global developments especially as they relate to competitiveness and exports and to be mindful of the initiatives being pursued in relation to special products, sensitive products and special safeguard mechanisms based on the criteria of food security, livelihood security and rural development needs.