By Admin. Updated 7:32 p.m., Monday, March 28, 2022, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ agriculture minister, Saboto Caesar called for greater support for innovation in agriculture in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
At the 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean Mr. Caesar noted that, “there is an urgent need for greater support to be given to small island developing states, (SIDS) regarding innovative agriculture.”
According to a release from the Communication Unit within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Caesar said that without innovation, SIDs risk global marginalization as food producers.
“This will reduce the competitiveness of small producers, leading to greater social inequalities within countries,” the Communication Unit’s account of Mr. Caesar’s statement read.
“It was emphasized that the youth must be specifically targeted, and the aging population of farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean must be supported through creative technology transfer platforms,” the Communication Unit’s release further stated.
The conference is ongoing and runs from March 28th to April 1st, 2022 in Quito, Ecuador, serving as a moment in which the member countries will define the regional priorities to adapt and localize the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 to the conditions of Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the Regional Conference, the countries will analyze the work done by FAO in the previous two years in the region and agree on recommendations for initiatives and priorities that will guide the Organization’s work during the 2022-2023 period.
More from the release
During the first two days of the conference, meetings with high-level authorities will be held during which officials will be presenting and analyzing the main results obtained by the FAO and Latin America and the Caribbean during the 2020 – 2021 biennium and also highlight priorities for the next biennium. The following days are reserved for a series of ministerial meetings during which members will exchange their experiences and process these innovations that are underway in order to show how the region is overcoming the challenge of transforming our agri-food systems and the context of the reality of each country.
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