(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is with great pleasure that I extend a warm “Nature Island” welcome to all those present here today at this momentous week of activities.
I feel privileged to be associated with this most important, timely and necessary event and feel humbled that my country was chosen as host.
I want to apologise to the foreign guests here today for the current state of the road network and to advise them to be comforted by the fact that work is being done aggressively by this administration to manifest a much improved road network within the medium term; roads all over the country are under repair and reconstruction as we strive to create an improved trade conducive infrastructure.
That being said, I welcome the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica, His Excellency Dr. Nicholas J.O. Liverpool and Mrs. Liverpool; the Acting Prime Minister Hon. Ambrose George and Mrs. George; and my other cabinet colleagues who have made great efforts to join us here based on an appreciation of the importance of the events unravelling here this week.
On behalf of the government and the people of Dominica I also extend a hearty welcome to the over 350 foreign delegates attending the Caribbean Week of Agriculture activities. I thank you for being here and urge you to enjoy and bask in the beauty of this country and the array of tourism services being offered for your personal satisfaction.
My friends, when I, in my capacity as Minister of Agriculture, on behalf of the government of Dominica, made a solemn plea to the alliance to allow Dominica to host this year’s Caribbean Week of Agriculture, it was accepted with some scepticism, contingent on Dominica’s capacity to host such an event. I therefore extend my most fervent gratitude to all the members of the alliance who gave unwavering support for this request.
It is therefore with great satisfaction that I say to you, that reports from various agencies and the CWA Secretariat have indicated that this week’s event has so far been satisfactorily executed. I want to especially thank the Dominican farmers who not only showed their support by attending the respective fora in large numbers but also raised some salient recommendations which I have listened to attentively, considered and accepted as legitimate concerns to be acted upon.
The recommendations made and which to my mind warrant mentioning are as follows:
(a) The issue of the disaster risk management eg: insurance;
(b) Agriculture health and food safety mechanism to check the importation of meat products;
(c) Research on drought tolerance and adaptation to climate change;
(d) Financing for agricultural related projects;
(e) Coordination between the ministries of agriculture and trade;
(f) Production scheduling;
(g) Regional transportation;
(h) Organic agriculture;
(i) Propagation centres; and
(j) Training for agricultural officers.
All these recommendations are noteworthy and will be dealt with accordingly at national and regional levels.
I have already acted upon one of these recommendations with alacrity and I am happy to inform you that the Director General of IICA has offered seven (7) agricultural scholarships annually at undergraduate, masters and PhD levels. Let’s give the Director a round of applause.
Also, I need to express thanks and commend the CWA secretariat headed by Mr. Edward Registe and the CWA national committee for a job well done. We should not underestimate the importance of this week to Dominica and the Caribbean by extension.
This week allows an opportunity for our farmers and officials to interact with agricultural experts from across the region and exchange ideas on the way forward for propelling agriculture in the Caribbean region. A vivid understanding of the importance of agriculture globally and the constant threats which it faces from climate change and natural disasters (to name a few) from which our small island countries are susceptible brings home the exigent importance of events such as this. Public education as to how these threats can be mitigated; can be controlled; cannot be overlooked; I urge our farmers to listen, to absorb and where possible to implement the advice of the experts present here today.
It would be unwise to forget that our vulnerability to natural disasters was firmly cemented when just one disastrous hurricane, dean, in 2007 led to losses in the agricultural sector of millions of dollars and a reduction in GDP earnings from agriculture. Prolonged droughts in 2009-2010 caused comparable damage, causing severe food shortages, hardships and vast increases in food prices on the domestic market. Approximately two (2) weeks ago “flash floods” brought the country to a standstill and the damages to homes and crops were estimated at $65 million dollars.
Friends, embracing knowledge therefore about our weaknesses and strengths is paramount and pertinent to our survival in this global climate. Where the issue of climate change is concerned it is important for us to observe that according to climate estimates, developing countries in the tropics are more susceptible to climate change damage than temperate countries. Changes in rainfall patterns and temperature regimes will influence the local water balance and disturb the optimal cultivation period available for particular crops, thus throwing food and agricultural production out of gear.
The worst brunt of climate change will be borne by farmers in dry land regions where agriculture is rain fed and conditions are marginal. Coping with the impact of climate change on agriculture will require careful management of resources such as soil, water and biodiversity.
Making agriculture sustainable is key and will only be possible through production systems that make the most efficient use of the environment goods and services without damaging the asset base. My friends, the time for action is now!!
Food and nutrition security is a matter to be given urgent and due weight throughout these activities. We must continue our efforts to ensure that the people from the region are guarded against hunger, poverty and social regression.
Information is king. In that thrust the alliance needs to be strengthened so that its mandate can be manifested in a manner which allows for more effective monitoring, evaluation and resource mobilization in an effort to continue the education on pertinent agricultural issues.
The expectation at the COTED Agriculture meeting on Friday is that the CWA culminates with a pragmatic course of action that will be able to respond speedily to the issues identified at the various fora. Ladies and gentlemen, not withstanding, I stand here today and proudly attest that here in Dominica the flicker of hope still shines bright; in 2011 the agricultural sector is expected to rebound with an overall projected growth rate of 4 per cent.
A complete turnaround of the sector is anticipated as things normalize following the drought, supported by government’s policies to sustain the sector. The banana sub sector, which suffered at the hands of a WTO decision, is expected to grow by roughly 10 per cent and other crops by 4.0 per cent. Hope, my friends, is alive and well!
I am, however firmly of the opinion that agriculture must undergo a paradigm shift at all levels if the world’s growing population is to be fed and the natural resource base that underpins food production is to be sustained. Business as usual is no longer an option! With a transition to climate resilient, low emitting production systems agriculture can become part of the solution to sustainable development.
On this high note, I urge all present here to take full advantage of the activities and the information made available to you throughout the course of this week. I wish you excellent deliberations and a pleasant rest of the week. One again welcomes and thank you all!
