Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government V. Alfred Gray yesterday urged CARICOM agriculture ministers to consider establishing a joint fund for regional agricultural development ahead of their roundtable with representatives of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Gray told Guardian Business that joint cooperation between regional agricultural organizations, including the Caribbean Poultry Association (CPA) and Caribbean Farmers Network (CFN), could serve as a catalyst for a feasible agricultural development fund that would redistribute the assets of larger agricultural powers in the region to "bear the infirmities of the weak".
"I think it's very feasible if every country contributes to the extent that they could. The one fund will be used to develop regionally our agricultural programs because some will need more than others. If everybody contributes to this fund, then it seems to me that it'd be much easier to fund a project in, say, The Bahamas than for the country itself to struggle on its own to do what it needs to do. This fund would be very important to the total development of the Caribbean agricultural sector," said Gray.
However, Gray did not provide further details for the proposed fund, including the number of member states involved, an implementation timeline, or The Bahamas' investment in the project. Gray hopes to use the meeting to gauge CARICOM interest in the project.
Speaking at the opening ceremony for the meetings between FAO and CARICOM agriculture ministers, Gray said the region needs to consolidate its resources to make Caribbean food security a reality.
"Do we have a fund from which we can draw as a region for the development of agriculture, or do we have countries struggling on their own where everybody takes it personally and not as a region? It's easier for everybody to contribute something to a fund that will help everybody. If we were to support each other our positions would become stronger. That common fund for the development of agriculture is something that I think we ought to consider," said Gray.
The meetings between FAO and CARICOM representatives will conclude with a site visit to the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) today. While Gray was uncertain if the meetings would result in further technical assistance from the FAO at BAMSI, he remained optimistic for the institute's progress as The Bahamas advances beyond its "fledgling" status in agricultural production.
"We are a fledgling agricultural nation. Quite frankly we're not even walking yet. We have a long ways to go and this gives us an opportunity to recalibrate the things that we need to do as a country, and BAMSI is the centerpiece of our agricultural thrust, so I'm hoping that we'll get some benefits from this conference," he said.
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