CTA at CWA 2012: Working together to realise the potential of agriculture in the Caribbean
Contents Welcome from Michael Hailu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Youth and rural modernisation Climate-smart agriculture
.............................................................
4
.....................................................................
7
Nutrition security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Value Chains and ICTs
.........................................................................
13
Linking science and media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 About CTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Dear CWA Participant, CTA is committed to advancing the Caribbean region's agenda of achieving food and nutrition security and promoting sustainable agricultural development. In close partnership with key institutions and groups from the public, private and civil society sectors, CTA contributes to efforts in meeting the multi-faceted challenges of climate change, socio-economic transformation and the preservation of the productive capacity of the region's natural resources. Sustainable agricultural development requires sound and inclusive policies and strategies, as well as innovations in new approaches and technologies. The Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) is a unique event that brings together experts, stakeholders and policy-makers and enables them to engage in constructive dialogue supported by evidence from research and practice. As always, CTA will be actively engaged in supporting the CWA in 2012. In particular, CTA is co-organising a number of workshops
on themes ranging from climate change adaptation to value chain development, role of media, ICTs and agriculture, youth and rural modernisation, and policies for achieving food and nutrition security. CTA will not only sponsor participants from the Caribbean and other ACP regions but it will also have many of its staff members actively contribute to the workshops. We trust that the participation of a wide range of stakeholders at the CWA will contribute to designing and implementing policies, strategies and practices that will enhance sustainable agricultural development in the Caribbean. I wish you all a fruitful and enjoyable CWA 2012.
Michael Hailu, Director
3
Promoting Promoting employment and and employment entrepreneurship entrepreneurship opportunities in in opportunities agriculture to to agriculture Caribbean youth youth Caribbean by strengthening strengthening by their skills skills and and their capacities capacities
Investing in youth to help transform the agricultural sector in the Caribbean
It is clear that agriculture needs to attract young people including those with talent and higher education.
The average age of the Caribbean farmer is 45 and the majority of farmers in the region are over 60 years of age. This hard hitting statistic is reason alone why 'youth' should be synonymous with the future of agriculture in the region. However, it is not only about replacing older farmers. The active engagement of young people in agriculture is a win-win for both the sector and youth. The transformation of this sector depends on the abilities and innovativeness of young people. Sound agricultural development policies and programmes offer young people modern employment and career opportunities especially in rural areas where they are confronted with high unemployment rates. Knowledge and technologies are at the heart of the modernisation of the agricultural sector. Technologies (including agricultural technologies and ICTs) increase the productivity of the sector, improve its adaptation and mitigation capabilities to climate change and link agriculture with other economic sectors such as trade and manufacturing.
Modern agriculture is a business that requires sound management from farm to fork. It necessitates continuous adaptation and innovation. This offers exciting opportunities to those able to innovate along the agricultural value chain. Well educated and ICT-savvy young people are in a perfect position to take advantage of these possibilities. Investing in the development of capacities and opportunities for youth ensures that they can play a unique role in agricultural development. These capacities are developed through education and training as well as open access to information and knowledge. Opportunities for young people result from conducive environments for employment and self-employment, entrepreneurship, access to assets such as finance, land and equipment as well as mechanisms for engagement with policy processes.
5
Taking action Action: CTA has been working with key organisations in the Caribbean such as CARDI, CCST and UWI to engage professionals in science, technology and innovation for addressing agricultural challenges. Several activities have been organised including a video and film competition.
Capacities of and opportunities for youth Young people are often not heard when it comes to voicing the issues they face in agriculture. Others are unaware of the opportunities offered by technologies for agricultural and rural development. The challenge is how to provide a medium to allow youth to engage in agriculture.
Results: The winning video was ‘Bee wise’ from Trinidad and Tobago and highlighted the negative environmental impact of poor agricultural practices. Keron Bascombe, UWI Agribusiness Society blogger
Action: CTA organised the 'Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo)' in 2011. Launched under the framework of the ARDYIS initiative (http://ardyis.cta.int) the blog competition was open to both individuals including agricultural students, young farmers and journalists, and to institutions such as farmers' organisations.
6
Results: The blog by the Agribusiness Society of UWI was voted best blog for the Caribbean region in the 'institutional' category. The blog is updated by students at the university and focuses on how technologies can positively impact agridevelopment at all levels.
Next steps: CTA works together with CAFAN, CAFY, IICA, CARAPN and other partners to contribute to the design and implementation of coherent multisectoral national and regional 'youth in agricultural' policies. They are also collaborating to equip leaders and representatives of youthbased organisations with skills to engage in value chain development as well as to contribute to, and influence policy development in agriculture. An important dimension of CTA's work on youth in agriculture is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences between the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions and to link these regions with global networks.
Helping Caribbean Caribbean Helping policy makers, makers, practitioners practitioners policy and scientists scientists uncover uncover and inspirational solutions solutions for for inspirational climate-smart agriculture agriculture climate-smart
In a green economy, farmers have a real chance to adopt climatesmart technologies that are technically, socially and financially feasible as well as being environmentally friendly.
8
Climate-smart agriculture in the Caribbean The need to implement CARICOM's 'Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilience to Climate Change' is clear. In this respect, CTA has been working very closely with CARDI, 5Cs, UWI, CIMH and other institutions to promote and support climate-smart agriculture in the Caribbean. Caribbean countries are particularly exposed and vulnerable to climate change. In the region, drought, pests and disease control, as well as the use of appropriate crop varieties, are particular challenges. Plenty can be done, however, allowing this region to adapt to climate change while promoting climate change mitigation at a global scale. Translating the science of climate change into policy language will go a long way to ensuring clearer understanding of the issues and strengthening the flow of knowledge and experiences between researchers, the farming community and policy-makers. This will have a profound effect when it comes to developing sound solutions to climate change at regional, national, and community level. Farmers have a
real chance to adopt climate smart technologies that are technically, socially and financially feasible as well as being environmentally friendly. Water resource management is one of the key areas where better institutional capacity is needed. This demands more integrated water resource policies and reaching a balance in the competition for scarce water resources. Linkages between those who use water, such as producers, those who make policies and those who impact the quality of water through waste and pollution, need to be nurtured. Innovators and entrepreneurs also have a role to play in identifying how best to both control water loss through wastage and improve effectiveness in water use.
Taking action Media professionals were engaged to capture public support for the issues and encourage stakeholders and policy makers to turn policy into action.
Promoting Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Caribbean While there is a significant amount of information and experiences on the use of climate resilient germplasm across the Caribbean and other regions with similar natural resource conditions and vulnerability to climate change, such as the Pacific Islands, they have not been fully used to inform evidencebased policy dialogue and decisions.
It has been recognised that more has to be done to open the flow of communication in order to capitalise on networks and learn from the experiences of others to identify and adopt the best climate resilient cultivars. Action: In 2010 and 2011, CTA, in partnership with CARDI supported synthesis and innovative case studies, cross-learning workshops, policy communication and advocacy work on Protected Agriculture and Water Resources Management. Following this work, national consultations were held for engagement with stakeholders and policy makers to test ideas and inform decision making on matters requiring policy action.
Results: Policy recommendations from these actions have been submitted by CARDI to CARICOM's Technical Management Advisory Committee for endorsement and submission to the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) for decision. Next steps: Climate resilient plant genetic resources: CTA and CARDI, together with UWI, Bioversity and other partners are working together to improve understanding and consensus among stakeholders on key policy issues regarding plant genetic resources in the context of climate change. They are collaborating to provide policy makers with options to develop informed regional climate change resilient policies in relation to plant genetic resources. In this context, CTA facilitates linkages and sharing of knowledge and experiences between the Caribbean and other ACP regions and global networks.
9
Bringing together together Bringing stakeholders to to stakeholders work towards towards food food work and nutrition nutrition security security and in the the Caribbean Caribbean in
Achieving nutrition security in the Caribbean
The only effective means of tackling the nutrition security challenge is to adopt a multi-pronged, multi-sector approach to policy.
In 2010, CARICOM officially approved the 'Caribbean Regional Food and Nutrition Security Policy' (RFNSP) adopting it as a pillar of the CARICOM Common Agricultural Policy. The challenge is to turn these intentions into action as foreseen in the Action Plan which accompanies the RFNSP. The impact of nutrition insecurity goes far beyond the obvious effects on mental and physical growth and development. It is also the cause for the increased prevalence of chronic but preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and irondeficiency anaemia. Not only do these illnesses have a life-long impact on families preventing individuals from reaching their potential, but they also represent a significant economic burden to the country due to higher demand for health care. Nutrition security is key to achieving almost every Millennium Development Goal and ensuring the continued development of the countries concerned. The only effective means of tackling the nutrition security challenge is to adopt a multi-pronged,
multi-sector approach to policy. This is, therefore, not an issue for one sector alone. In order to identify a practical and successful route forward, inputs from diverse sectors such as agriculture, industry, health, youth, education, sports and even tourism are necessary. Moreover, any policy debate and process should also involve the Civil Society and private sector in order to address issues at regional, national, community and household level. Achieving nutrition security is realistic and the Caribbean has a long history of developing policy frameworks in this area. However, it needs to implement the approved policies involving all levels of society and address cultural, socioeconomic and political-institutional elements. It should tackle food prices and ensure a lesser dependency on imports, thus reducing a country's vulnerability to external shocks.
11
Taking action Turning policy into action: connecting the dots With the focus firmly on nutrition security, CTA and its partners were aware that the various regional and national stakeholders needed to improve their understanding of the issues at hand in order to implement conducive food and nutrition security policies in the Caribbean.
12
Action: In 2011, at a Policy Forum/Agricultural Round Table held during the CWA, CTA, IICA and CARAPN brought together representatives from agriculture, health, education, the media and other sectors. Under the banner 'The food and nutrition circle, connecting the dots' participants sought to clarify the issues and understand the roles to be played by the various actors to achieve nutrition security. Media professionals were actively involved in the event acting as facilitators and moderators. This helped reinforce the engagement of the media with agricultural processes. The discussions highlighted a number of key issues: 1. Price factor: The effect of food pricing on nutrition means that consumers are faced with making choices based on affordability over nutritional quality. 2. Education: Education was generally recognised as the key to achieving nutrition security. Experiences from the School Feeding Programme were shared and the role required from others to make it successful was recognised.
3. Clarity on the issues: The need to 'connect the dots' for everyone in society enabling them to understand the issues around nutritional security was recognised. 4. Linkages: Identification of the links between food and nutrition household vulnerability and practical options for enhancing household self-reliance are necessary. CTA and CARAPN are currently planning more work at the national level based on positive experiences with food and nutrition security and are designing mechanisms to feed them back into policy. One of their activities involves making efforts to link educational programmes such as the School Feeding Programme to the approved Caribbean Regional Food and Nutritional Security Policy. Next steps: CTA will continue to work together with CARAPN, IICA, CARICOM Secretariat, FAO Regional Office, Caribbean Public Health Agency, UWI, Ministries, Farmers Organisations, and Youth Organisations to consolidate and expand capacity mechanisms and platforms for inter-sectoral, inter-institutional and multi-stakeholder dialogue and consensus on food and nutrition.
Helping Caribbean Caribbean Helping farmers and and farmers entrepreneurs entrepreneurs realise the the potential potential realise that markets markets offer offer that
The solution would appear to lie in building and strengthening capacity and networks within the Caribbean farming and agribusiness community to produce for the market.
14
Growing the regional market The volume of agricultural commodities and valueadded produce that is imported into the Caribbean each year is an issue that has received significant attention. However, the challenge still remains: how can some of this be produced competitively in the region and once available, how can it meet local and regional demand. The solution would appear to lie in building and strengthening capacity within the Caribbean farming and agribusiness community to produce for the market. This requires farmers to understand what to grow when, and a support system that permits the efficient linking of buyers and sellers. The challenge of reducing the region's growing dependency on imported foods is further compounded by the threat to the viability of many traditional crop varieties posed by climate change. Not only do farmers need to build farm-to-fork value chains that fully exploit regional food demand, they need to do so in a manner that is climate-smart, able to adapt to the expected changes in the region's climate. Farmers and agribusiness cannot achieve this alone: they need supportive government policies and services (research, extension, export promotion, phytosanitary controls), and strong links with other
parts of the economy (e.g., ICTs, packaging services, finance). But while demanding, the task is simplified by the growing power of ICTs, which are the most readily available and effective tool to make farm-to-fork and farm-to-finance linkages and information flows possible. These technologies allow smaller players, which dominate in the Caribbean, to compete on a more even playing field with their larger global counterparts. As the 2011 'Mapping Study on Value Chains Initiatives' undertaken by CTA, found 'ICT have the potential to improve efficiency by reducing the cost of doing business along the agricultural commodity value chain and improving conversion of inputs and outputs (horizontal integration). It can also facilitate vertical integration by small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs in value chains.'
Taking action ICTs encourage innovation in the Caribbean value chain Within the Caribbean region there is a limited integration of ICTs in the agricultural value chain. Moreover, there is not much known of the initiatives, challenges and the needs of stakeholders involved in the use of ICT in these chains.
Action: CARDI, with the support of CTA, launched a project entitled 'Strengthening ICTs in value chains in the Caribbean'. This initiative will document and review the integration of ICT tools in Caribbean value chains. It will identify some international practices relevant to the region, define recommendations, promote findings and lessons learned and favour the development of future initiatives. A methodological workshop will be held during CWA 2012 and will bring together experts, mainly from key national and regional organisations. Participants will fine-tune the design of the study to be undertaken and consider stakeholders' recommendations. Follow up: Following the study, outreach and advocacy documents will be produced. A stakeholder workshop will also be organised and strategies to implement some of the key recommendations made will be proposed. This project is one of the many ICT focused activities CTA is engaged in to support the application of ICT innovations in Caribbean agriculture.
15
Linking science science Linking and media media to to and promote public public promote awareness and and awareness policy dialogue dialogue policy for sustainable sustainable for agricultural agricultural development development
Linking media and science
Media can rally the public behind a cause such as climate change, urging policy makers to advance these issues to the top of their agendas.
Media has the ability to play a very influential role in raising the profile of agriculture in the Caribbean. The power of a pen, photo, interview or story highlighting the challenges, failures or successes in agriculture, should not be underestimated. Media professionals can draw public awareness to important agricultural issues educating them on the various aspects and angles. Take, for example, nutritional security. Here media will be vital in informing the public on how to select and prepare nutritious food and passing this experience on to the next generation. At a higher level, the media can rally public behind a cause such as climate change, urging policy makers to advance these issues to the top of their agendas. At the same time, journalists and others have the important task of ensuring promises are kept and the resulting policies implemented. Media professionals need to be at the cutting edge when it comes to covering agricultural issues. This demands a high level of understanding of the key issues surrounding new developments and scientific research in agriculture. The problem, however, is that these
scientists and journalists do not normally interact and even if they meet they are not used to communicating in a language that the other understands. It is, therefore, vital to develop stronger media networks and avenues of communication between scientists, policy makers and those in the media if agriculture in the Caribbean is to modernise and adapt to the new realities. Events such as the Caribbean Week of Agriculture which see media actively engaging with scientists and policy makers are essential to strengthening these relationships.
17
Taking action topics such as fisheries, green economy, coastal area management and the effects of climate change on ecosystems and food production.
Opening avenues of communication between scientists and media Agricultural information is usually technical and difficult to understand. Information related to topics such as climate change, markets, tariffs, food security, and agribusiness, is often presented using technical jargon. This needs to be transformed into understandable messages for everyone.
18
Media professionals will discuss the challenges and opportunities they face in taking the messages to the public as well as how best to use social media and other ICT tools to communicate.
What can be done to increase the interest of media professionals to better understand the science behind agriculture, enabling them to report accurately and in a timely manner on topics of critical importance to the Caribbean population?
CTA will also support the media coverage of CTA events during CWA 2012 events in an effort to promote the need for policy response to new and emerging agricultural development issues in the region.
Action: During CWA 2012, CTA, CARDI and ACM will provide scientists and journalists with an opportunity to build on the relationships between media, policy and agricultural sectors which first started in 2006.
Follow up: Participants at the workshop will review the Caribbean media strategy which was developed in 2010 with the help of CTA and its partners, taking into consideration new developments and changes as well as achievements. An outline of a media toolkit/handbook will also be discussed.
The aim is to educate the media and increase awareness on issues considered to be of critical importance to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector in the Caribbean. These include
Next steps: CTA will continue to work with ACM, CARDI and the Caribbean media to attract public and political attention and support to the continuous development of the agricultural sector.
About CTA
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries. It provides access to information and knowledge, facilitates policy dialogue and strengthens the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities. CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU.
For more information on CTA visit: www.cta.int
For more information on CTA's products and services visit: www.cta.int CTA Headquarters PO Box 380 6700 AJ Wageningen The Netherlands Tel.: +31 317 467100 Fax: +31 317 460067
At CWA 2012, CTA works in partnership with: