The OECS Agriculture Technical Committee meets in St. Lucia , January 15th and 16th, to develop programmes and projects for transformation of the agriculture sector.

The committee comprises senior agriculture officials from OECS Member States and support institutions such as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the University of the West Indies (UWI), the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Caribbean Agri-Business Association (CABA).

The working meeting was mandated by OECS Ministers of Agriculture to advance the OECS Agriculture Policy Framework and Plan of Action which they officially endorsed in October last year. This document was developed by the OECS Secretariat to provide the platform for the modernization of the agriculture sector in the sub-region.

This meeting will review and evaluate ongoing initiatives in OECS Member States to determine their relevance and contribution to the overall priorities and objectives of the Policy Framework and Plan of Action.

The officials will determine if there are choices or adjustments to be made in response to current priorities and new developments.

The meeting will, in addition, seek to develop new programmes, and the organizers are expecting at least two new project profiles to emerge from each strategic area – policy legal and institutional reform; natural resource management; financial options; incentive regimes and insurance; and production, product development and marketing.

They also expect one project each from the Food Production/Food Security Considerations, Agri-Tourism Linkages and Considerations for Youth in Agriculture.

Contacts:
George Alcee – Agricultural Economist, OECS Secretariat: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kendol Morgan Senior Comm. Officer OECS Secretariat This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Raymond O'Keiffe Comm. Officer email : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it