Improving productivity, openings and limitations in agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as new technologies and innovation were one of the main issues in the event.

According to CARICOM Today website, implementing low carbon development pathways, environmentally friendly production processes, and funding innovation for financial education was also on the regional meeting’s work agenda.

Shaun Baugh, Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development Program Manager at the CARICOM Secretariat, assured the debates will lay the foundations to conduct a transformation in the Caribbean, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

UN Resident Coordinator Didier Trebucq, on the other hand, recalled that Caribbean nations are currently challenging multiple crises including climate change and natural disasters, which negatively impact on development and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), said that farmers must be listened to, because without them there would be no food.

‘Science and technology are pivotal for decision-making on these issues, and agriculture is part of the solution to climate change,’ Otero stated.

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