IICA ECS News. Inside This Issue. Editorial:

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1 VOLUME 1/2012 IICA ECS News March 2012 Editorial: So much time has elaspsed since we last communicated with you through this medium and we apologise to all those who expressed dissapointment in the absence of ECSNews. The challenges that prevented the publication were many fold and there are lessons learnt. Nothwithstanding, our work continue to touch the lives of the peoples of our member countries in the ECS and beyond and we remain committed to sharing the results with you all. We hope you continue to be touched by the stories of our efforts as we are touched by each solution that brings improvement to peoples lives in our rural communities. We encourage you to keep the feedback coming. Una May Gordon IICA Representative in the ECS Inside This Issue 1. Editorial 2. IICA ECS receives Assistance from IICA Dominican Republic for development of the Small Ruminant Industries in Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia 3. IICA St Vincent and the Grenadines Promotes Leadership in Agriculture 4. IICA Saint Lucia hosts Meeting of CANROP Members 5. IICA St Vincent and the Grenadines Assists Agro-processors 6. Upcoming Events April June 2012

2 PAGE 2 IICA ECS NEWS IICA ECS receives Assistance from IICA Dominican Republic for development of the Small Ruminant Industries in Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia The Director General of IICA during his visit to the Eastern Caribbean State (ECS) in late 2011 received a request from the Ministers of Agriculture in Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia for assistance in improving the small ruminant industy in the two islands. Immediately following his return to San Jose, Costa Rica, the Director General approved the necessary allocations to allow for the impelementation of the requests made. This invovled an initial six-day visit by Dr Manuel Sanchez from the Office in the Dominican Republic to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia to undertake a diagnostic assessment of the small ruminant industry in both countries. The assessment report identified a number of challenges and opportunities and made recommendations for improvements. One of the recommendations made for Saint Lucia was to improve knowledge capacity of farmers and technicians on small ruminant management and feeding. During the period February 13-16, 2012, Dr Manuel Sanchez, returned to Saint Lucia and conducted two training sessions in the north and south of the island. Sixty-five(65) farmers and offiers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries and Rural Development attended the training workshop in Small Ruminant Management and Nutrition. The session in the south of the island was opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries and Rural Development, Hon Moses Jn Baptiste, who assured the farmers and Ministry personnel of his full support and commitment to the development of the industry and thanked IICA for the quick response to the request. The areas covered during the training included: General characteristics of small ruminants; Nutrition and Feeding Management: Rearing systems, Housing, Handling and identification, Hoof trimming, Castration and dehorning, Reproduction, Breeding and selection, Record keeping, Body condition score, Diseases and Health care, Natural enemies, Finishing and slaughtering, Skin conservation and tanning, Manure handling, Integrated Farms. In addition to the training, visits to individual farmers were made on February 17 and 18 to obtain further information on the rearing conditions of small ruminants in other areas of the island and to determine possibilities for technical interventions. IICA and CARDI have joined forces to implement the recommendations for Antigua and Barbuda.

3 IICA ECS NEWS PAGE 3 IICA St Vincent and the Grenadines Promotes Leadership in Agriculture A central theme of IICA s new Country Strategy (CS) for St Vincent and the Grenadines is the promotion of producer/commodity groups as a vehicle to advance the interest of the public in the supply chain of non-traditional industries. This is seen as a first step towards deepening the engagement with stakeholders along the continuum of the value chain for key industries. In support of this overarching strategy, and to satisfy one of the direct outputs of the CS, IICA organized and executed a one-day workshop addressing the issue of group dynamics and organizational leadership. This workshop revolved around three key presentations on the inter-relationships within groups, leadership within groups and the importance of communication as a tool to foster group development. The workshop saw participation from ten agricultural groups which included: Poultry Producers Association, Small Ruminant Society, Rabacca Fruits and Vegetables Farmers Organisation, VINCYKLUS agro-processors, Pineapple Growers Organisation, East Caribbean Trading and Development Organisation, Beekeepers Association, Windward Island Farmers Association (WINFA), The St Vincent and the Grenadines Network of Rural Women Producers and The St Vincent and the Grenadines Agricultural Forum for Youth. The exercise was a collaborative effort reflecting the strategy of the office to engage, as far as possible, the local organizations with specific capacities and skill sets to contribute to the overall implementation of the CS. As such the Ministry of National Mobilisation, Gender and Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Education s Adult Literacy Unit and WINFA were all engaged in the planning and execution of this event which, from the participants evaluation was a resounding success. Participants and facilitators (latter seated) at IICA s group dynamics and organizational leadership workshop June 22, 2011

4 PAGE 4 IICA ECS NEWS IICA Saint Lucia hosts Meeting of CANROP Members Twenty seven (27) rural women representing twelve (12) countries from across the Caribbean Region met in Saint Lucia to participate in a seven-day training workshop. The workshop was organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA Saint Lucia), in collaboration with the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (CANROP) and sponsored by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWOMEN). The key strategy and outcome of the training was to build the capacity of the executive members of all chapters of CANROP specifically in core legal issues relevant to the organization and its members and to build management and leadership skills. The workshop enabled the upgrade of communication and networking mechanisms to enable rural women micro-entrepreneurs in the Caribbean to participate more effectively in the development process through the use of online tools, thereby contributing to the improvement of their own situations/livelihoods and by extension those of their communities/countries. The members of CANROP also acquired knowledge and understanding on gender relations and the connectivity among aspects of gender inequality such as the sexual division of labour, differences in labour market participation, wage discrimination and differences in control over resources, access to the market and income earning revenue generating livelihood options. Participants of the IICA UNIFEM Training in Saint Lucia

5 IICA ECS NEWS PAGE 5 IICA St Vincent and the Grenadines Assists Agro-processors IICA s Country Strategy for St Vincent and the Grenadines focuses on the development of agribusiness and industries. Central to the development of such businesses is ensuring that the procedures and practices inherent in their operation are at the highest levels to ensure efficiency and competitiveness in the market place. Fulfilling its mandate to facilitate the development of such competitive industries, IICA initiated and organized a workshop on Good Manufacturing Practices for small scale agroprocessors. This activity was held at the agro-processing laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture at Orange Hill. Twenty (20) persons participated in the event including members of the SVGNRWP who are already engaged or interested in processing and members of the national network of agro-processors, VINCYKLUS. The facilitator at the event was the Ministry s Food Technologist, Wendy Michael, who delivered presentations addressing the areas of: cleaning and sanitation; hygiene consideration in processing; process control; raw material selection and control; finish product handling and preservation. The presentations were well received as expressed in the evaluations conducted at the end of the session. Denoting the importance of the session, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, Forestry and Fisheries, Hon. Montgomery Daniel, was on hand to deliver a keynote address and declare the session open prior to the presentations. Other addresses were delivered by the Technical Specialist of IICA and President of the SVGNRWP, Norgie Tucker. Going forward the parties have agreed to continue the collaboration, to expose the processors to new knowledge that would enhance the efficiency within their small businesses. IICA is happy to lead in this regard. Minister of Agriculture, Hon Montgomery Daniel, addressing the audience during the Opening Ceremony

6 PAGE 6 IICA ECS NEWS Past Activities of Note Australian High Commission joined IICA in Assisting St Kitts and Nevis Agro Processors. IICA Grenada supported the Hosting of the 6 th Beekeeping Congress. Local farmers benefitted from IICA/CARDI Protected Agriculture Training in St Kitts and Nevis Upcoming Events April June 2012 SAP Accounting Training, ECS Administrators, April 18-27, IICA Headquarters. Editorial Team Una May Gordon, Editor-in-Chief Bernitha M Clery, Editor, a.i. Deborah Biscombe, Design and Layout Office in Saint Lucia iica.lc@iica.int