At C/bean Week of Agriculture - Dr Ramsammy plugs for C/bean self-sufficiency in production of meat from small ruminants Written by Clifford Stanley Sunday, 06 October 2013 00:46 AGRICULTURE Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has urged senior agriculture professionals and local and Caribbean-based farmers to develop innovations and governance systems that would see the Caribbean becoming self-sufficient in producing meat from small ruminants. Dr. Ramsammy addressing the gathering at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture Workshop on Small Ruminants He disclosed that between 15,000 and 25,000 tonnes of sheep and goat meat are consumed annually in the Caribbean, 80% of which is imported from outside the region. “It is a shame, because we are not importing because we have the extra money and want to, but we are doing it because we have to. We are consuming much more than we produce,” the minister said.Some of the participants at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture workshop on small ruminants The challenge facing the region is to come up with ways to ensure that production of this important source of protein is maximized to the extent that the region no longer needs to import for consumption, he said. He made those comments while opening a seminar on the small ruminants industry, one of several activities which form part of the 12th annual Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), currently being observed in Guyana. Organised by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the seminar aims to explore methods for improving production of small ruminants throughout the Caribbean. The topic discussed was: “Innovation driving the small ruminant industry in the Caribbean”, and yesterday’s seminar was the first of two on the same topic. The other session is to be held at the same venue from 15:00 hrs today. The many participants included Dr Cedric Lazarus of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Dr Manuel Sanchez, IICA representative in The Dominican Republic; Mr. Albert Fearon, Small Ruminants Production specialist with the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI); FAO Representative in Guyana, Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul; IICA Representative in Guyana, Mr. Wilmot Garnett; small ruminant farmers from Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Haiti, Suriname, Guyana, and representatives from the small ruminants cluster in Canada. The topics discussed included livestock’s role in the global security challenge; overview of livestock production in the Caribbean; small ruminant production, challenges and opportunities in the Caribbean. Topics related to the Caribbean experience also included improving productivity and sustainability of production systems, and developing an enabling business environment. Members of a visiting team of representatives from the small ruminants cluster in Canada made presentation on such topics as the use of information technology for enhanced performance and accountability; improving productivity and competitiveness through genetics; feeds and feeding for small ruminant production; success in the tropics, and adapting the Canadian experience to develop a business model for small ruminants in the Caribbean. A major objective of the two-day seminar is to develop recommendations for an enabling policy environment and institutional framework for sustainable production and commercialization of small ruminants’ products, with an emphasis on the smallholder system.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 17:29:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015