Last Updated on August 21, 2022, 7:21 AM AST by Anthony Morris
St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Agriculture, Samal Duggins, is currently in Trinidad and Tobago to attend the CARICOM Agri-Investment Forum and Expo II, which is scheduled to run from August 19-21, 2022.
The forum is being held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, Trinidad, under the theme “Transforming Agriculture through Innovation and Investment.”
The Agri-Investment forum is Agriculture Minister Duggins’ first ministerial engagement abroad since assuming the portfolio of Minister of Agriculture on August 13, 2022. Reiner Ferdinand, Agriculture Extension Officer, is also accompanying him.
The forum forms part of CARICOM’s mandate to commercialise the Agri-Food systems across the region. It is an ideal platform designed to stimulate conversations among key stakeholders, such as policymakers, potential foreign and local investors, farmers, and distributors, to amplify investments and achieve the vision of reducing the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
Some of the key objectives of the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo are:
- To highlight food security’s importance and a resilient and sustainable agriculture system.
- To showcase agriculture stakeholders and the advancements made across the sector over the decades.
- To encourage discussions between key stakeholders in the agriculture sector, both locally and regionally.
- To create avenues for trade and investment for local or regional producers/entities across the agriculture value chain.
- To improve local agricultural production, productivity, and value chains in the agriculture sector through shared knowledge and experiences.
- To encourage the exchange of technology and promote investment in innovative technologies to achieve increased food availability locally and regionally.
- To enhance Regional Trade Investments and reduce the dependency on imported food items by promoting local or regional alternatives.
The Agri-Investment forum intends to engage speakers across the CARICOM States on various themes, including, Food and Nutrition; Agriculture, Finance and Marketing; Agriculture, Trade and Investment, and Agriculture, Innovation and Technology.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
