On February 3, 2023, a virtual launch of a two-year regional cluster of projects called Promoting Windward Islands Food Production and Trade Corridor through National and Regional Value Chain Development was held. More than 50 stakeholders, government representatives, and regional partners were there.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the governments of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are working together on a group of projects on the islands of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
During the launch, the main topic of conversation was the need to build value chains in each country that are resilient, competitive, and sustainable. This would make it easier for several commodities to grow and make money.
The importance of each country’s unwavering support to reach these goals, which would replace food imports and improve production to allow for more exports to both domestic and international markets, could not be stressed enough.
This was met with strong agreement and commitment from the Ministers of Agriculture and regional partners, who all agreed that they had a key role to play in making sure the initiative, which is already being put into action, was a success.
The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Honourable Saboto Caesar, said that there was a need for a broad consolidated marketing platform, like the old Windward Islands banana industry, to create economies of scale and scope to move goods together through the Islands to exporters and take advantage of opportunities in markets outside of the region.
He also said that the new initiative was the first step toward rebuilding a unified platform and network in the Windward Islands. In the future, this initiative will be expanded to other OECS countries.
Minister Caesar talked about some of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ plans to help with these efforts.
He came to the conclusion that FAO will make it easier for these agricultural industries to grow, which will improve food and nutrition security. However, it will be up to each government to take the initiative and find more money to support the growth of their industries and exports.
Honourable Adrian Thomas, Grenada’s Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries, and Cooperatives, talked about some of the plans and partnerships that are already in place to help with the initiative. He also said that Grenada welcomed the initiative, which would help their farmers a lot. This is especially true now that the country is working hard to rebuild its agriculture sector after Hurricane Ivan and COVID-19 caused a lot of damage.
He said that the country should focus on growing root crops and building agribusinesses so that they can compete better with processed imports and on the world market. He came to the conclusion that Grenada was ready to work with other countries in the Windward Islands to change the whole agricultural sector and boost exports.
The Commonwealth of Dominica’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy, the Honorable Roland Royer, agreed that the country should join the initiative and said that Dominica was ready to keep working on developing its value chains.
The countries praised FAO for this visionary project, which, with the full support of governments and partners, would have a big impact on the world.
Mr. Stephen Fevrier from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission said that the organization fully supports this timely and innovative initiative. He also praised the region for working together on this important project.
Mr. Gregg Rawlins from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) made similar comments. He said that the organization was fully committed to and supportive of the initiative, and he was glad that the member countries were also committed. He said that the IICA was ready to talk about ways that its work could fit in with the efforts of the projects in the cluster.
The comments from the governments and partners echoed what FAO Sub-regional Coordinator Dr. Renata Clarke said about making sure that other regional projects and initiatives worked together to help the countries boost local production, create jobs, support livelihoods, and increase exports.
She agreed that if the countries and regional partners like IICA, the OECS Commission, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) worked together, it could make a huge difference in these efforts.
In the coming weeks, stakeholders in each country will work together to do rapid value chain assessments and come up with strategies for improving them. These plans will then be put into action right away on the ground.
