cafan newsletter agrivybz 10

8/8/2019 CaFAN Newsletter Agrivybz 10

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Managing Editor: Jethro Greene | Administrative Support and Editor: Nyasha Durrant |

Contributors: Jeffrey Trotman, A. Murray & R. Penny | Design & Layout: Jeffrey Trotman

The 2010 Caribbean Week of Agriculture(CWA) was held in Grenada under the themeSustainable Agriculture Development to

Achieve Food and Nutrition Security.

With funding from the Technical Centre forAgricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) andthe Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO) under the EuropeanUnion All ACP Agricultural Commoditiesprogramme, a team of five personsrepresented the CaFAN Secretariat.

Among the activities CaFAN was involved inincluded setting up of an exhibition boothwhich displayed publications, crops grown and

a video display of activities implemented by thenetwork since its inception. There were alsotwo presentations made at (1) the CTA briefingon Strengthening Entrepreneur groups toinfluence policy design and implementationand (2) the FAO Value Chain PromotionSeminar. Several appearances were made byChief Coordinator of CaFAN, Mr. JethroGreene on television and radio programmesincluding the one hour radio programme calledTop Soil hosted by Mr. Roderick St. Clair,Marketing Manager of the Marketing andNational Importing Board (MNIB) of Grenada.

One of the major highlights of the week ofagriculture was the hosting of CaFANs foodnight under the theme Eat Caribbean, EatLocal, Eat Fresh: Promoting Regional Foodand Nutrition Security. This event took placedirectly following the official opening of theCWA on Thursday October 21

st, 2010.

CaNewsle

Issu

IN THIS ISSUE

Hurricane Tomas ......2

CaFAN on the Move ......3

Caribbean media challengeto highlight agriculture4

Praedial Larceny: The FighGoes On ......5

Transforming Agriculturethrough Food Security

EU officials evaluate AAACCaribbean project 8

CTA continues to supportCaFAN 10

Kuru Kururu Farmers beneffrom training 10

CaFAN contributes to CTA5 year Strategic Plan 1

ECTAD identifies key cropsfor CaFAN regional importsubstitution programme 1

CaFAN strengthensrelationship with COADY

CaFAN recruits newvolunteers1


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Editors NoteDear Readers,

The banana is one of the healthiest, delicious and unique tropical fruits; it is

high in potassium and low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to

beat high blood pressure. It also helps to normalize the heart beat, sends

oxygen to the brain and regulates the bodys water-balance. Bananas are

high in B vitamins that help to calm the nervous system making it another

ideal food in the fight against stress.

Recently, the banana production in Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the

Grenadines has been completely destroyed by the passage of Hurricane

Tomas. Nonetheless, because of its significance to our regions food and

nutrition security, plans have already been put in place to restart theproduction of bananas, with assistance being given to farmers in St. Vincent

and the Grenadines.

The sudden impact of natural disasters on our agriculture food production is

eye-opening enough for important measures to be put in place to protect our

food supplies and also safeguard the income and livelihood of small

farmers.

CARICOM, with the input of key agricultural stakeholders has developed a

Regional Food and Nutrition Security (RFNS) policy document which seeks

to address food insecurity within the region and provide a strategy for

feeding the region in times of natural and other disasters that will impact

food availability.

CaFAN has made significant contributions into the final RFNS policy

document and will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that there

is a constant and consistent supply of food, while at the same time, ensuring

that support is provided to farmers who are our main food producers.

Nyasha DurrantProjects Coordinator

CaFAN

Hurricane Tomas

devastates the

regions Agricultures

Hurricane Tomas has devastatedagricultural production in Saint LuciaSt. Vincent and the Grenadines and, toa lesser extent, Barbados duringOctober 29 and 31, 2010.

According to reports and on site visits,the northern areas of St. Vincent, andthe Southern areas of Saint Lucia havebeen seriously damaged and havebeen declared disaster areas.

According to a report from VincentiaFatal, CaFAN focal point representativein Saint Lucia, the area most affectedwas Fond St Jacques, which is one ofthe largest farming communities with aresident population of approximately2,000 people, most of whom arefarmers and farm labourers. Thevarious landslides completely washedaway the roads used by farmers toaccess their farms in the area calDerache and farmers cannot get totheir produce in the ground.

There were also lots of damages to

greenhouses and many farmers losttheir crops by floods and the windbattered all fields in the area. Bananaproduction was totally devastated and itwas reported that an estimate of 90%of the agriculture sector was damagedin Saint Lucia.

In St. Vincent, a team from ECTADvisited the affected areas to see thewidespread devastation in the bananaindustry and tree crops such asbreadfruit and vegetable production

that were severely affected. All hope isnot lost as root crop production is stillintact with minor damage to fields dueto landslides.

The Ministry of Agriculture in St.Vincent has been doing farmevaluations and compensation will bemade to banana farmers, which includemonies for farm labourers andfertilizers to restart the production ofthe banana industr .


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CaFAN on the Move:An update on recent activities

Hurricane TomasSt. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines banana and plantain cropswere devastated and there was disruption of normalcy in Barbados by therecent passage of Hurricane Thomas. CaFAN regrets the loss of lives in St.Lucia and we assure our members that the CaFAN family will support themto pick themselves up. We are trying to figure out the type of help that theCaFAN family can provide to our members, particularly in St. Lucia

CaFAN will also be monitoring relief assistance to ensure that they areadequately distributed to farmers.

x x x x x

CARICOM engagementRecently, CARICOM engaged CaFANs leadership on the subject of the

CSME and small farmers and ways of using public relations andcommunications to involve CaFAN membership in the Caribbean SingleMarket and the Economy (CSME).

Steve Mangal, National Coordinator of GAPA, Guyana, was one of theconsultants for this project. He worked tirelessly to ensure that CaFAN wasput at the focal point of any project for future implementation. As a result ofthis effort Sis Dhano Sookoo of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad andTobago (ASTT), Bro Jethro Greene and Sis Gerda Beckles of Suriname,participated in the final stakeholders consultation where Sis Sookoo leadthe charge of ensuring that CaFAN was at the centre of future projectdevelopment. As a result, CARICOM is offering both financial and technicalassistance to CaFAN from this project activity.

CaFAN has already indicated the willingness of the network to acceptCARICOMs offer to be put on their delegation to countries like Jamaica,Suriname, Belize, Dominica, Bahamas and later on, Haiti, so that CaFANcould use the opportunity to develop its membership base in thosecountries.

x x x x x

CARICOM Regional Food & Nutrition Security Policy Document (RFNS)Ms. Shari Niles supported by Jethro Greene and with input from the entiremembership, participated in the final preparation of the RFNS policydocument. The final document includes a number of suggestions fromCaFAN in which we clearly articulated the position of the farmer and ruralhouseholds.

Ms. Niles was highly commended for her representation by the CARICOMteam.

x x x x x

Other CARICOM InitiativesSis Dhano Sookoo, Bros. Steve Mangal and Jethro Greene have acceptedCARICOMs offer for them to make input on behalf of CaFAN in CARICOMsregional agriculture and agribusiness policies.

Please feel free to share any input with the Secretariat for us to consider aswe embark in trying to influence the overall CARICOM agriculture policy.

CTA continues to support CaFANRelationship with CTA is on theupswing as the new Director of CTA,Dr. Michael Hailu and the CTADivision that deals with CaFANsregional programmes have taken avery favourably engaging positionwith CaFAN. At the CTA strategicplanning meeting in Holland whereJethro Greene was the lonerepresentative from the Caribbean,significant input was made onCaFANs strong position of puttingfarmers/producers as one of the keycentres of CTA activity.

x x x x x

CTA is also providing CaFAN with

support this year to produce twonewsletters, a membership needsassessment survey to be carried outin each CaFAN member country, twoagriculture fact sheets and a cropproduction planning workshop.

x x x x x

World Bank support to CaFANThe World Bank is allocatingresources for training CaFANmembers in agriculture riskmitigation. This is to be done in

conjunction with CARDI. The trainingis to be coordinated by CARDI andMs. Keeley Holder, one of CaFANsagriculture advisors, who issupervising this programme.

x x x x x

FAO collaboration with CaFANFAO continues collaboration withCaFAN with its provision of financialassistance to four CaFAN membersto develop their root crops sector

under the EU AAACP. The membersare North East Farmers Organization(NEFO) in Grenada; ECTAD in St.Vincent and the Grenadines;Christiana Potato Growers Society inJamaica; and GAPA, Kuru Kuru inGuyana.

Continues on page 15


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Mr. Michael Hailu, CTA Director

Caribbean mediachallenged to highlight

agriculture

The new CTA Director, Michael Hailu, has given themedia in the Caribbean a challenge to increase its focuson agriculture and climate change.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day CTAsponsored regional Media Experts Seminar for theCaribbean on 20 October, 2010, the CTA Directorpointed to new opportunities for the regions agricultureto obtain a larger slice of the value chains that exist foragricultural and agri-products within the newinternational trade environment. He also referred to thegrowing concerns relating to climate change.

Hailu pointed to the challenge of engaging the media tospark public debate on these issues. He also pointed tothe challenge the media face and would experience inattempting to interpret the language of technical peoplein agriculture and vice versa in this new thrust to bringagricultural matters and climate change to the public in

ways that they can understand and appreciate.

Head of CTAs Communications Department, MmeOuymy Ndiaye, endorsed the concerns of the CTADirector as she gave an overview of the workshop.

During the three-day exercise, Jos Fonseca, CTAsSenior Programme Coordinator, introduced LindiweMajele Sibanda of South Africa, the Chief of Mission of

FANRPAN, a network of thirteen African countries,representing government, farmers organizations, privatesector and recreation with the stated mission: topromote effective food, agriculture and natural resources(FANR) policies by facilitating linkages and partnershipsbetween government and civil society; building thecapacity for policy analysis and policy dialogue insouthern Africa; and supporting demand-driven policyresearch and analysis.

Over thirty media experts from across the Caribbeanparticipated at the media workshop, which includedaudio visual presentations from Wesley Gibbings,

Chairman of the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM); Sam Mikenga, Theresa Daniel, a mediaconsultant in St. Vincent and the Grenadines; WendyDiaz and Efasina Efunyemi; journalists Peter Richardsand Julius Gittens; and Dr. Maria Protz.

Dr. Arlington Chesney, CARDI Director, also made apresentation on Caribbean media coverage of food andagriculture.

During the exercise, ECTAD/CaFAN CommunicationsConsultant, Jeffrey Trotman, referred to the longstandingand cordial relationship that exists betweenECTAD/CaFAN and the CTA in which CTA has funded

several capacity building training programmes as well asprovided funding for the publication of the ECTADGreenlight and CaFAN AGRIVYBZ newsletters.

Participants of the Media Experts Seminar

The new approach by the CTA to engage the ACM came out of the CTAs annual seminar in Brussels, Belgium on12-16 October, 2009 in which the media was highlighted as a strategic link in the chain of information disseminationand communication that brings stakeholders together as the media address the major agricultural and ruraldevelopment (ARD) challenges of the 21

stcentury including food security and climate change.

The Brussels gathering acknowledged that adequate flow of information in ACP countries is inadequate and mediatreatment of crucial issues such as food security, post-harvest technology and water management often tend to beinsufficient.


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Praedial Larceny:

The Fight Goes On

On September 21 and 22, 2010, the TechnicalManagement Advisory Committee (TMAC) of theDeficient and Uncoordinated Disaster RiskManagement, including Praedial Larceny in theAgriculture Sector for the Jagdeo Initiative collaboratedwith the CARICOM Secretariat, FAO and CDEMA, andheld a regional stakeholders consultation to considerdraft recommendations and plan of action to reducepraedial larceny in member states of CARICOM.

The consultation was represented by Minister HilsonBaptiste, Chair of the TMAC/ASSC and lead Minister onthe Jagdeo Initiative Constraint on Deficient andUncoordinated Disaster Risk Management Measuresincluding Praedial Larceny.

Speaking on the issue of praedial larceny, Mr. JethroGreene who represented CaFAN highlighted thatpraedial larceny has been identified by CARICOM to beone of the greatest threats to a thriving agriculturesector. He noted that crop theft has always existed inone form or another, with people stealing for the purposeof selling to traffickers. This is literally taking the moneyout of the pockets of farmers, who have a difficultenough time breaking even.

Greene noted that past strategies have dealt with the

symptoms of praedial larceny and not the root causes. Astrategy needs to be developed that both treats praediallarceny as a serious crime, but also addresses thefactors which lead people into committing these crimes,since a prosperous and profitable agriculture sectorneeds to be secure.

One such strategy that CaFAN seeks to promote is theidea of clustering. These are informal organizationswhich are established in communities in order to givesmall farmers a greater voice and improve theireconomies of scale. Clustering helps to bringcommunities closer together and builds strong bonds

between farmers who will then look out for each other.

There are also practical realities that exist within theCaribbean countries where farmers reside nearly one totwo hours away from their fields. We need to exploreways in which these farmers can become more attachedto their lands, allowing them to maintain their ownsurveillance and can maintain surveillance onneighbours farms. To adequately address praedial

larceny there needs to be large structural changes. It isno small task to push for land reform, but it is necessary.

Following the two day consultation a document Analysisof the State of Praedial Larceny in Member States ofCARICOM was circulated which provided a backgroundinto praedial larceny within CARICOM countries andlisted several recommendations that can be adapted inthe fight and reduction of praedial larceny at the nationaland regional levels.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

- In some countries, for example Suriname,praedial larceny is strongly linked to foodinsecurity. Therefore, specific focus should bemade in strengthening food security

- Create Sensitization, Public Awareness andInformation sharing programmes for praedial

larceny prevention

- Strengthen the national policy framework andthe institutions that support praedial larcenyprevention and risk reduction

- St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica andTrinidad and Tobago are the three countries thathave placed praedial larceny prevention in theNational Agriculture Strategy. Its recommendedthat these three countries elaborate thestrategies using a Results- Based Plan ofAction. The Plan of Action should adopt an

implementation strategy that integrates thepraedial larceny prevention measures into thereporting and monitoring processes of theNational Agriculture Strategy.

- The National Praedial Larceny Strategies begiven recognition in the CARICOM RegionalAgriculture Policy now being developed underthe IICA/CTA/CARICOM initiative

- To establish and strengthen planning andmonitoring systems at the national and regionallevels

- Strengthen community watch groups

- Conduct an investigation into how praediallarceny is integrated into the legitimate fooddistribution chain

- Build farmer capacity for praedial larcenyprevention

- Establish special units in the police force totackle praedial larceny


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Transformation of Agri-Business in the CaribbeanArticle by Renortha Penny

Subsistence farmers usually receive strong criticism fornot planning or producing enough to supply the localmarket, yet alone the external market. There are manyfarmers within the region who do not own their landslegally because it has been passed down fromgeneration to generation with no legal documentation.

Ironically, some governments refuse to recognise therelentless sacrifice and the need for ownership of landsby farmers, which will allow for easy access to credit andother amenities to improve their livelihood for thedevelopment and expansion of their farm.

On the other hand, it is amazing how multinational

agricultural companies have easy access to whatsubsistence farmers are presently fighting for in theCaribbean (insurance, credit, technology, etc.). Theyinvade third world countries, producing large quantitieswith cheap labour, whose focus is not for internaldevelopment but for the foreign market. Yet, thesecompanies are continuously embraced by governmentsand authorities promising to provide more employmentfor the locals to improve living standards but they areoften left with the dismay of deserted-degraded lands,chaos, mass migration of farmers to the cities, famine,drought, and waves of violence just to name a few formof their exploitation.

In the Caribbean, we ought not to allow our fragileagriculture industry to be managed under the capitalistsystem as that of the multinational agriculturalcompanies. The wealth of Agriculture Technology mustnot displace farmers and workers and more over, shouldnot unbalance our ecosystems (natural resources arevery limited especially in the Caribbean).

We have seen time and again that traditional crops andnative species surpass genetically modified ones thatare usually recommended to us from foreign experts.From basic observations, these species often requirehigh volumes of water (irrigation systems), pesticides(not resistant to most tropical pest) and new stock everyseason; they are basically a catalyst to making theindustry stagnant to growth and development from thedependencies on foreign technologies.

Therefore, we must open our eyes and see that our

development does not have to be foreign but from within.Latin American, Asian and African countries have all feltthe effects of genetically modified crops and of thoseempty promises from multinational companies. In theCaribbean, we must hold strong with the limitedresources we have and first feed within our borders withsurplus turn over to the regional and extra regionalmarkets.

The transformation of Agribusiness in the Caribbean willonly succeed as we learn from our past and makechanges in the present to encourage a more sustainableand profitable future.

Youth Volunteer invited to CTA Seminar

in South Africa

Ms. Renortha Penny of Grenada has been selected by CaFAN to participatein CTAs Annual Seminar on Closing the Knowledge Gap: Integrated WaterManagement for Sustainable Agriculture to take place in Johannesburg,South Africa from November 22-26th, 2010. Two of the four objectives ofthe seminar are to:

- Share experiences and information on best practices in integratedwater management (IWM) in the various agro-ecological zones ofACP countries

- Identify information & communication needs and requirements andpropose guidelines for the implementation of water managementactivities and programmes

The seminar will bring together over 150 experts involved in integrated waterresource management and related fields.

Ms. Penny also represents CaFAN who sits as a regional member on CTAsYouth, Agriculture Rural Development and ICT (ARDYIS Project) along withMs. Keeley Holder of Barbados. Both Ms. Holder and Ms. Penny aretechnical volunteers and consultants with CaFAN.

Renortha D. Penny is one of thenewest members to join CaFANsteam of technical volunteer. She isa dynamic and motivated youngentrepreneur who has 5 years inthe area of Green BusinessDevelopment strategies andcreates a close relationshipbetween research and sustainabledevelopment issues.


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Voice of Jethro Greene, Chief Coordinator

o CaFAN

CAFAN contributes to

Regional Food & Nutrition

Security Policy

CaFAN is bent on making an indelible impact on the proposedCARICOM/FAO Regional Food and Nutrition Security policy(RFNS). According to Jethro Greene, CaFAN Coordinator, theproposed RFNS is part of a larger agriculture sector policy thatCARICOM is designing with technical assistance from theFAO. He said that CaFAN is bent on ensuring that the policy

reflects the true reality of the Caribbean, especially since the majority of people in the food production system aresmall farmers.

Emphasis on local foodStressing that regional food securityshould be centred aroundCaribbean produce not importedfood Greene said it is scientificallyproven that a lot of locally producedfood that go to waste in theCaribbean are much healthier thana lot of the imported food. If we areto fight the non communicablediseases, he elaborated, we haveto get our people to eat more of ourhealthy food rather than a lot of the

imported processed junk food thatthey are using.

Land policyThe CaFAN leader is alsocontending that a regional foodpolicy must also include a clear landpolicy in which emphasis is placedon the preservation of agriculturalland across the region. We canthave food security whengovernment is taking all the landsand put to tourism without anyregard for food security. So we have

to have good land policy designedto protect agriculture.

StigmaApart from meaningful land policies,Greene feels that Caribbeangovernments need to havemeaningful youth policies withrespect to agriculture. We alsohave to look at the negative stigmaattached to agriculture. If

government is serious, efforts wouldbe made from school level to fosterappreciation for agriculture.

We also want to ensure that we donot look at the farmer in animpersonal manner as though he orshe is a machine a producer offood. Farmers must be looked at ina holistic way. The farmer is anintegral part of the society. Thefarmer is a person with needs andhas a family. Government has to beserious in putting things likeinfrastructure in agriculturalcommunities and rural areas.

StoragePointing to the need for increasedstorage facilities, Greene said thereare times of major gluts and scarcityand this must be addressed by thegovernments within the region.

TransportationCaFAN believes that intraregionaltransportation of produce is not a

major problem once the agriculturalsector is vibrant. According toGreene, the private sector is readyand willing to provide transportationonce supplies are guaranteed.

Greene said. We need to deal withthe fundamentals of supply,marketing and supply chainsystems that would ensure thatcertain levels of supplies are

coming out of countries to bedistributed around the region andtransportation will fall in line. Imvery confident about that. Im moreworried about production planningthan transportation.

CaFANDisclosing that CaFAN has over500,000 farmers throughout theregion with members in 13Caribbean countries, Greenesaid:The Caribbean is seen as one

country. In order for us to geteconomies of scale we need towork together. The idea of St.Vincent and the Grenadines,Jamaica, or even Guyana to workon their own is ridiculous when youthink of what is going on ininternational trade; people aremoving in blocks.

So, we as a united farmersorganization is way ahead of thepoliticians we are sensible, wereintelligent, we have vision. We

recognized that the world wasmoving in blocks six years ago, sowe put ourselves in a block. Now,we are in a position in which we canoffer and the private sector iscoming to us to supply them withcommodities because we havemembership in all CARICOMcountries.

Continues on page 14...


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Ms. Guigou and Mr. Gooding examine plants during farm visits;NEFO farmer presented with certificate of participation

Ms. Guigou andMr. James

Clarke (farmer)converse about

sweet potatoproduction

during visit toECTAD, St.

Vincent and theGrenadines.

Photo taken on

CARDIsexperimentalsweet potato

plot

EU officials

evaluate AAACP

Caribbean project

Two officials from the CoordinatingUnit of the EU AAACP haveexpressed satisfaction with progressmade on attempts to bolster root cropproduction amongst CaFANmembers participating in the EU ACPAAACP Roots and Tubers program.

Ms. Laurence Guigou, Administrativeand Financial Expert and Ms.Mariane Tambwe, CommunicationsExpert, visited the Caribbean duringthe Caribbean Week of Agriculture

and visited three of CaFAN membersinvolved in the EU AAACP inGrenada, St. Vincent and theGrenadines and Jamaica. Thepurpose of their visit was to monitorthe effectiveness of the EU AACPassistance to improve capacityamongst Caribbean farmers tofunction viably and sustainably.

GRENADAThe North East FarmersOrganisation (NEFO) of Grenada

was the first to be visited, and thistook place on Wednesday October20

th. Accompanied by two of CaFAN

Secretariat Volunteers; Dave Rideoutand Sadaf Kashfi, the team

journeyed to several NEFO farms ledby its president Mr. Evans Gooding.Farmers of NEFO were questionedby the two EU officials and theyshared their experiences and lessonslearnt especially in the areas ofrecord keeping and new farmingtechniques. Following the field visits,NEFO held a small ceremony with itsmembers and the EU officials. Thisevent provided an opportunity forGuigou and Tambwe to speak to alarger audience of NEFO farmerswho are involved in the project. Thevisit concluded with distributions ofcertificates for participation in theNEFO CaFAN FAO EU AAACPproject.

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINESOn Monday October 25

th, Guigou and Tambwe journeyed to St. Vincent

and the Grenadines and looked at progress being made on an FAO fundedsweet potato pilot project in the North Leeward area of the island. Theyalso visited the CARDI sweet potato experimental plot and several fields ofdasheen.

Pointing to some degree of differences in competence amongst theVincentian farmers that are affiliated to ECTAD and their counterparts fromNEFO, Tambwe said that ECTADs farmers membership is much largercompared to NEFO and that she and her colleague could discern thatcultivation techniques are more developed in St. Vincent than at NEFO.

Enthused by what she saw, Guigou said ECTAD is receiving grantassistance from other agencies to continue capacity building amongst its

affiliate farmers.

The two EU Officials departed from St. Vincent on Tuesday 26th

to Jamaicato learn of the experiences of the Christiana Potato Growers CooperativeAssociation (CPGCA). They were also expected to meet a number of otherJamaican stakeholders, local and international officials, including WorldBank personnel before returning to Brussels.


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Priceless ExpressionsSome members of NEFO receiving their certificates from Mr. Reginal Andall, CARDI Representative in

Grenada and main trainer under the NEFO CaFAN FAO EU AAACP Roots & Tubers Project

JAMAICA

On October 28, 2010, the ChristianaPotato Growers Co-operativeAssociation Ltd showed itsappreciation to FAO and all theGroup Secretaries that participated inthe Training the Trainers Seminarsby hosting a Farmers Day & FAOEvaluation Exercise. Special guestsfrom the EU Coordinating Units;Guigou and Tambwe, were present,along with presenters and RADAofficials who participated in thetraining exercises.

Some of the farmers from variouscommunities whose groupsecretaries participated in the trainingexercise were present in support ofthe secretaries. There were

approximately 55 persons inattendance including 7 persons whowere visiting Jamaica which gave theexercise an international flavor.

The representatives from the EU,accompanied by Mr. Alvin Murray,General Manager and Mr. IvanGreen, Chairman CPGCA, toured theDevon Resource Center where theysaw the activities associated withgreen house vegetable production.

The representatives from the EUlater participated in the FarmersMeeting held at CPGCA Head office.There, the trainees deliberated onthe value of the FAO sponsoredseminars on their personal lives andtheir community improvement. TheEU representative assisted inhanding out Training Manuals,containing the course work to theGroup Secretaries who were present.

The EU representative, presenters, CPGCA and RADA personneladdressed the gathering about their organizations efforts to improve thewellbeing of the farmers and their communities. Further comments weremade by farmers in the audience. The CPGCA chairman gave the closingremarks and brought the meeting to a close.

According to Guigou and Tambwe, the overall visit is part of a periodicmonitoring programme to determine whether EU grants and funding fromother donor agencies are achieving the objective of raising capacityamongst small farmers to improve their production and productivity andconsequently their quality of life in ACP countries.

The EU Officials explained that a number of international organizationsoperate as implementing agencies for the All ACP AgriculturalCommodities Programme. In this case, Tambwe said, FAO training isbeing provided to different farmer organizations in St. Vincent, inJamaica, in Guyana, in Grenada to improve their production cultivationtechniques, to improve the use of fertilizers and their ability in leadershipand also improve the management of their own farms.

Standing: Alvin Murray, Laurence Guigou & Ivan GreenSitting:Female trainers are Olive Johnson & Cheryl Sawyers


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CaFAN

contributes to

CTAs 5 year

Strategic PlanJethro Greene, Chief Coordinatorwas the lone representative fromthe Caribbean region to attendCTA Strategic Planning Workshopfrom October 5-7, 2010 inWageningen, the Netherlands.

There were over fifty internationalexperts including CTA staff inattendance. Their role was toassist in defining possible strategic

thrusts and priorities for the Centrein the coming five years.

CTA convenes every five years toreview the external environment,examine its roles and devise a newstrategy to guide its future work.The strategy serves to priorities theCTA programmes, projects andactivities for the following fiveyears.

In an exclusive interview with Mr.Greene regarding his participation,Greene said that CTA has a majorstrength that most of the otheragencies do not have, a uniquepartnership approach, whichplaces emphasis on sharing anddialogue, rather than talking down.This partnership approach is apillar which allows CTA to workthrough partners like CaFAN andalso through strategic partnershipslike FAO it can maximize itsresources.

He also said that CTAs staffcomprises both ACP and Europeanwhich creates a balance in theInstitution.

Greenes contributions were madefrom CTA national and regionalpartnership programmes throughwhich CaFAN and its Secretariathave been able to benefit.

ECTAD signs LoAECTAD has once again received support from FAO for a number ofdevelopment activities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). The support

which falls under EU AAACP is aimed at strengthening ECTADs farmer basewithin rural communities for the production and marketing of root crops. Aspart of the programme, ECTAD has targeted a minimum of 600 farmers for(re)registering in SVG and has set up six field officers to work directly withthese farmers and the area extension officers in the Ministry of Agriculture. Itwill also hold a National Stakeholders Planning Meeting scheduled forNovember 23-25, to appraise the farmers on all aspects of the project andwhat would be required of them.

ECTAD will also use the opportunity to hold one day village meetings withfarmers which it is hoped will result in the strengthening of a group or cluster.These meetings will be held in collaboration with the Ministry of Agricultureand other stakeholders such as CARDI and the Taiwanese Technical Mission.

CAFAN contributes to CARCIOM

Agricultural Policy (CCAP)On November 11-12, 2010, Jethro Greene represented CaFAN at aCARICOM Agricultural Policy (CCAP) validation workshop in Guyana, prior towhich he distributed CaFANs position on agricultural policy to be incorporatedinto the CCAP.

CaFAN believes that CCAP must support measures that will enhance farmingas a business within the region in areas which include:

1. Improving agriculture productivity2. Improving marketing and trade, starting within our own CARICOM

borders3. Facilitate support for farmers to better deal with environmental

standards, health and safety issues regarding the food trade4. Facilitate focus on young farmers and promote agriculture right

through the school system from kindergarten to secondary5. Support value addition with key focus on the use of local products

produced within the Caribbean region and support more research anddevelopment in value addition

6. Improving access to finance and financial investment for farmers7. Improving access to land and security of land titles for farmers8. Improving marketing infrastructure especially storage, packaging and

safety issues9. Support skills development in the agriculture field10. Facilitate risk mitigation training and technical support for farmers.11. Facilitate agriculture crop and livestock insurance12. Facilitate the strengthening and build capacity building of farmers

organisation and clusters as a core strategy13. Empowerment of farmers and farmers organisations14. Support focused research and development aimed at solving

problems affecting farmers15. Support skills development in the agriculture field


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ECTAD identifies key crops for CaFAN regional

import substitution programme

Seven key crops; dasheen, sweet

potato, yams, eddoes, plantain,ginger and pineapples wereselected by farmers andagriculture stakeholders forproduction linked to CaFANmarketing programme.

These crops were identified at aCrop Production and MarketingCoordinating workshop organizedby the Eastern Caribbean TradingAgriculture and DevelopmentOrganisation (ECTAD) which took

on Wednesday 25th August,2010.

The main objective of the one daymeeting was to develop aproduction and marketing strategylinked to CaFANs RegionalImport Substitution Programmeand joint overseas marketing.

The meeting was held incollaboration between ECTAD,Ministry of Agriculture and theCaribbean Agricultural Researchand Development Institute(CARDI). It brought together abroad community of agriculturalstakeholders from farmers,agricultural institutions, govern-ment, and the private sector.There were over 30 participantsincluding representatives of theGuyana Agriculture ProductionAssociation and the North EastFarmers Organisation fromGrenada.

The one day workshop which was led by Mr. Jethro Greene, Chief Coordinator(ECTAD) examined crop production and marketing from the local, regional andinternational standpoints. There were presentations made by Dr Gregory Robin,(CARDI Representative), Mr. Seithroy Edwards and Mr. Renarto Gumbs,Agriculture Officers (Ministry of Agriculture) and farmers leaders who gave anupdate on the current state of production in several areas of St. Vincent and theGrenadines.

The one day workshop also featured a brief outline by Jennifer Blackman of aCARICOM Study Project to access famers knowledge of the CARICOM SingleMarket and Economy (CSME). Magdaline Niles of Grenada and Steve Mangalof GAPA also gave a brief descriptions of their organisations, while Ms. NyashaDurrant, ECTADs Project administrator gave an outline of the current FAO EU

AAACP support to CaFAN.

Significant opportunities for farmers and agriculture stakeholders to comment ontrends in the agriculture sector were an important element of the workshop.There was a Question and Answer section that was intended to promotedialogue amongst interested parties and to foster learning among a diversegroup of stakeholders, regarding competition and other issues in the agriculturalmarket landscape.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Greene noted that ECTAD, St. Vincent was justone of thirteen countries that will contribute crops for CaFAN marketingprogramme. The other countries were recommended to meet and identify cropsthat they had a strategic advantage of growing.

Group photo of participants

NEFO visits ECTAD FarmersDelegates of NEFO, Grenada visited St. Vincent through a study tour program hosted by ECTAD from August 24th

27th 2010. The Study tour was one of NEFOs activities funded under a letter of Agreement by FAO through theEU AAACP. The goal of the tour was to identify key production and propagation techniques practiced in St.Vincent that will enhance NEFOs present and future crop production for greater economic, financial and workforcebuilding opportunities.NEFO farmers were taken on several farm visits in which they looked at the production practices of dasheen, yams,eddoes and sweet potatoes on both the Leeward and Windward locations. They also visited CARDIs experimentalstations, the Ministry of Agriculture propagation station and the Taiwan experimental plot.


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Its on the basis of that we were ableto interact with CARICOM aregional organization and, ofcourse, if there is a regionalorganization like us that is active onthe ground producing, they wouldhear about us and engage us.

He explained that the CaribbeanFarmers Network (CaFAN) is anetwork of small farmers. We formthem in groups or clusters. No matterhow small they are, we bring themtogether to get economies of scale.We get production. We get training.We get technical assistance. It isprimarily a small farmersorganization. The coordinating office

is in St. Vincent with focal points in allthe member countries of the network.Every member in a country whether itis the Jamaica Agriculture Society,the Christiana Potato GrowersAssociation represents CaFAN intheir country

ExpectationsA policy is an over archingframework Greene explained. Aregional policy for agriculture andfood security is necessary so that wehave something that we could fallback on. It is a guide and once it isfashioned in a right way it could forcegovernments in the region to changetheir behavior and conform becausethey will be held accountable.

He said as farmers organizationsbecome more active they can play astronger role in their country andensure that government does notdole out the country to foreigners.You protect your farmers.

He said that if the policy is followed,a number of things would fall in placethat would benefit farmers. Forexample, we have had a lot of socalled money come into the regionfor agriculture and governments haveattempted to create organizations. Idont believe in that.

I believe that government mustcreate the policy framework and anenabling environment for farmersorganizations to have farmers

working together in clusters, etc.They must not be controlled bygovernment. They must be facilitatedby government because the farmingsector has been too politicized overthe last decade or so and, generally,in a lot of countries, politicians areafraid of farmers being independent.So, they keep them dependent.

ProsperityCaFANs role is to ensure thatfarmers act like the private sector.Governments need to create the

enabling environment. Let the EUassistance come directly to thefarmers groups. Let the privatesector investment come directly tothe farmers groups. Governmentsmust simply collect taxes and create

the enabling environment and get outof direct lead involvement in some ofthese activities and we will seeprosperity.

NovelGreene is also the Chairman of the

Agriculture and Nutrition Committeeof the St. Vincent and theGrenadines Chamber of Industry andCommerce. Noting that it is a novelcommittee in the organization,Greene said the committee has beenworking well.

We are now doing a cook bookbased on our local food chain. Weare also promoting a fruit of themonth and a fruit of the quarterbased on our local fruits. We are also

promoting the nutritional value of thefruits. Among other things, we havestarted a very active programme topromote school gardens, starting withthe Intermediate High School, whichis very good since we are focusingthe school garden as a business not just as farming. We are trying topromote farming as a business.

He said he joined the Chamber toinfluence the organization to becomemore involved in agriculture and he ishappy to state that more business

men are taking a more active interestin agriculture and purchasing morelocal food. So, the Chamber ismoving in the right direction.

CARICOM consultations attended by CaFAN

On September 16 and 17, Jethro Greene represented CaFAN at the CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN)consultation meeting in Barbados. The purpose of the consultation was to reach agreement on a standingarrangement for future consultations between the OTN and select Regional Non-State Actors (NSA) organizations.

Following the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been drafted between CaFAN and CARICOM

On October 28, 2010, CARICOM Secretariat held a one day meeting to review the draft report of the CSME RuralCommunity Readiness Study which was conducted in Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent and theGrenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago and to agree on a strategy. The meeting took place in Guyana andwas represented by Jethro Greene.

On November 9 and 10, Mrs. Dhano Sookoo, CaFAN Director and President of the Agricultural Society of Trinidadand Tobago (ASTT) represented CaFAN at a CARICOM Stakeholders workshop on Developing an Action Plan forPromotion of a Regional Agribusiness Sector and Targeted Commodity Enterprises in Guyana.


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continued from page 3

FAO will also be supporting an issue of AGRIVYBZ andis supporting the CaFAN Secretariat to host regionalworkshops and provide technical supervision for theprojects on the ground. Recently, a two member teamfrom the coordinating unit of the European Union AllACP Agricultural Commodities Programme (EU AAACP)visited the region aimed at evaluating the impact of theprojects. From first impression, they seemed satisfiedwith the progress of the project in all four locations.

x x x x x

2010 Caribbean Week of AgricultureThe performance of the various CaFAN representativescaused the organization to shine at the variousworkshops held at the CWA. CaFAN was featured onsix television and radio interview programmes during theweek of activities, much more than any other

organization that attended the event.

And with its local Caribbean food night, CaFAN becamethe most visible and recognizable organization at theCaribbean Week of Activities. As a result of this, anumber of organizations including CARICOM and ourtraditional partners are reaching out to us in moreintensive fashion with offer of technical and financialassistance.

The team approach of CaFAN and the consistency of itsmessage and vision with heavy emphasis on leadershipsuccession by encouraging young people to participatein the leadership is putting CaFAN in extremely high

profile way above the rest.

There must be no compromise in continuing the processof team leadership and sticking to our vision of ensuringthat our farmers own more of the value chain if not thetotal value chain to the extent that he/she can have aviably profitable business that he/she can pass on togenerations.

Congratulation to the CaFAN leaders at the CaribbeanWeek of Activities!

x x x x x

CaFAN Constitution and Strategic Plan

CaFAN is in the final stage of its Constitution and hasbeen circulated to members for final comment. CaFANnew strategic plan is also under review and a draftoutline would also be circulated within the next month.

x x x x x

CaFAN membership feesCaFAN would begin membership fee collection inDecember to be continued in January to ensure that allmembers are in good current financial standing.

Others

The recent training course on AgribusinessManagement for Farmers Organization held in July,2010 in St. Lucia was very successful and the reporthas been circulated to all members.

All CaFAN members and affiliates are asked tosubmit articles on their organization to theSecretariat for publication in AGRIVYBZ.

Any CaFAN member, representing his/herorganization at any official workshop is asked tosubmit a report of the event to the CaFANSecretariat, which will in turn, be circulated to allmembers

CaFAN members are also requested to keep theSecretariat informed on activities in country and anymajor report on agriculture in country so that theSecretariat could circulate to the generalmembership of the network.

The CaFAN Directorate and Secretariat would like toencourage the membership to be vigilant and takecharge of your/our own agriculture destiny.

CaFAN Upcoming Events

Crop Production Planning Regional WorkshopFebruary 14-18 or 21-25, 2011

Three day Grenada consultation meeting andcountry visit January 2011

Three day Jamaica consultation meeting andcountry visit February 2011

Barbados Agro-fest 2011 February 25-28, 2011

SEND US YOUR COMMENTS

The CaFAN Secretariat is looking forward toreceiving your feedback on this issue of

AGRIVYBZ Issue #10.

Please send comments or suggestions [email protected] or

[email protected]


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This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and

Rural cooperation (CTA). However, the views expressed herein can in no way be taken toreflect the official

opinion of CTA.

The CaFAN Secretariat recruits new volunteers

Mr. Elroy Wilson is a final year student at the Universityof the West Indies (UWI) pursuing his Bachelor ofScience degree in Agribusiness Management andEntrepreneurship at the St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad& Tobago. Elroy has worked in agriculture as a BananaExtension Officer at the St. Vincent Banana GrowersAssociation. On November 3

rd2011, he received the

Agribusiness Community Service award for mostoutstanding performance in the internship programmewhich he completed at the Ministry of AgricultureForestry and Fisheries, St. Vincent.

Elroy fully commits himself to the field of agricultural andrural development and supports CaFANs mandate toimprove the livelihood of small farmers across theregion.

Mr. Conroy Huggins is an Agronomist/AgriculturalEngineer within the Ministry of Education, St. Vincentand the Grenadines where he has been teachingagriculture science at the Bishops College Kingstown(BCK) for two years. He is a former senior extensionofficer at the St. Vincent Banana Growers Association.He also served as president of the St. Vincent and theGrenadines Agriculture Forum for Youth (SVGAFY).

He is presently the coordinator of the BCK AgricultureScience club. Conroy desires to inspire and mobilizeyouth involvement in agriculture in St. Vincent and theGrenadines and the wider Caribbean and he is pleasedto be a part of the CaFAN team.

CONTACT US

Caribbean Farmers NetworkC/o Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture

Development Organization (ECTAD)

BeachmontP.O. Box 827, Kingstown,

St. Vincent and the [email protected] / [email protected]

www.caribbeanfarmers.orgTel: (784) 453-1004 Fax: (784) 453-1239

cafan newsletter agrivybz 10

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