The FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean has taken the task to coordinate and carry out a series of discussions, through online conferences, focused on the effects of COVID-19 on the agri-food system.The fifth webinar of the FAO-COVID-19 and Food Systems Series, co-organized with the strategic collaboration of the CARICOM Secretariat, will focus on “Enabling agricultural investment in the Caribbean for an effective response and post-COVID-19 recovery”. The webinar will take place on Thursday, 7 May 2020 at 12:00 P.M., Barbados time, with opening remarks by Julio Berdegué, FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, and by Renata Clarke, FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for the Caribbean (SLC).Speakers:Máximo Torero Cullen – Chief Economist and Assistant Director General of FAO, Economic and Social Department (ES-FAO) “Coronavirus: The Food Supply Chain Under Pressure What Can We Do?”
Saboto Caesar – Minister of Agriculture, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Chair of CARICOM Agriculture Sector COVID-19 Response Task Force. “CARICOM COVID-19 Food and Security Action Plan Coordination and Implementation”
Joseph Cox – CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General, Trade and Economic Integration. Blueprint for Transitioning to Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery
Patrick Antoine – Caribbean Private Sector Organization Representative. “Private Sector Leading Growth in the Region in a post COVID-19 world”Selected experts will pose questions following the presentations:· Michael Clifton Pintard, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, The Bahamas· Jeremy Stephen, Economist· Lystra Fletcher-Paul, FAO Former Sub-regional Coordinator -SLCThis initiative is part of the agreement made between 11 international organizations in the region to coordinate their actions and provide technical support to governments in order to keep agri-food trade alive, expand social protection systems, reach common sanitary and phytosanitary standards, and increase intraregional trade.YouTube Live – https://bit.ly/FAOCOVID19.The meeting will be webcast live on FAO’s website. Journalists can follow the discussion here.More information about the event is available here.Key LinksFAO & ECLAC weekly newsletter- Analysis and responses of Latin America and the Caribbean to the effects of COVID-19 on food systems,Web portal on relevant information worldwide on the pandemic.RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIAMeeting website
FAO’s COVID-19 websiteFOLLOW ON TWITTER
#FoodSystems#COVID19
@FAOCaribbean@FAOAmericas@FAODG@CARICOMorgFOR MORE INFORMATION:FAO Training Nucleusrlc-nucleo@fao.orgJournalists & editors:For photos, audio clips, video material & b-roll, contact: (+39) 06 570 53625 or FAO-newsroom@fao.org.
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