Agriculture is vital to the economies in the region.
For that reason the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) said it was seeking to attract at least three more countries to join its network in an effort to further strengthen and grow the critical sector.
CaFAN currently has about 13 farmers’ groups across the region with a membership of close to 500 000 farmers.
The network’s chairman, Jamaican Senator Norman Grant, said, “We are now seeking to engage a relationship with the Dominican Republic, Haiti and also trying to engage Cuba to be a part of this thrust to develop Caribbean agriculture.”
“We think that agriculture is critical for the development of the region. And we are involved in this journey to produce more of our food in the region because whether or not we believe it, we are importing [about] US$4 billion to US$5 billion worth of food. That is a lot of money,” added Grant.
His comments came during the launch of the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme for the Eastern Caribbean (YEPEC) at the BYBT office last Wednesday.
Grant argued that consuming more of what was produced in the region would result in a drastic reduction in the ballooning food import bill, create more employment across the region, “and it means more wealth for the rural population”.
Established in 2004, CaFAN’s major aim is to foster linkages, training and information-sharing among Caribbean farmers so they are better positioned to respond to key challenges facing the agricultural sector in the Caribbean. (MM)
