During the week of 4-8 October 2021, Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) will be observed under the theme: “Transforming our Food Systems”. The CWA takes place under the aegis of the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu, referred to as “The Alliance”.
The members of the Secretariat for the Alliance are:
- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat
- The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
- The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI)
Held annually in October, this regional event provides a forum for Ministers of Agriculture, planners, regional organisations and other key agricultural stakeholders in the public and private sectors of the Region, to meet to discuss major issues affecting the agricultural sector in the region. The major objective is to derive solutions targeted at the transformation and repositioning of agriculture in the region, as well as at improving its contribution to supporting the economic, social and environmental stability of CARICOM Member States.
During the five-day period of the event, which will be held virtually for the first time, the opportunity will be taken by regional organisations to host a number of webinars, which will be held simultaneously throughout each day. Among the topics to be covered will be the following:
- The Future of Caribbean Food Security Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Sargassum: A Nuisance or Potential Benefit to Agriculture in the Caribbean
- Using data, resilience measures and 4.0 technologies to systematize climate change interventions and impact in the agricultural sector
- Recovery and Resilience of Forest Ecosystems following Natural Disasters
- Addressing gender-based and climate risk resilience in value chains
- Strategies and Initiatives for enhancing Intra-regional Trade in agri-food products
A series of Ministerial meetings will also be convened during Week. Ministers of Agriculture will meet to discuss key issues affecting the agricultural sectors in the region and to receive reports on action being taken by the various regional agencies, organisations and NGOs to assist with alleviating identified constraints to the development of the sector. The major meeting to be held during this Week will be the Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) – Agriculture. A Meeting of Agriculture Ministers of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will also be held. Meetings of the Governing Bodies of CARDI, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) will also be convened.