Agriculture

SOURSOP INDUSTRY IN GRENADA IS THRIVING ANF ROBUST

Grenada takes firm action to safeguard and develop its USD 2.6 million soursop industry

The island aims to increase capacity of the industry and explore new export markets

Launched on April 18, 2024, a three-year project entitled, “Enhancing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) capacity and market access for Grenadian soursop exports” aims to help the country enhance its industry traceability and surveillance systems, as well as the soursop industry’s ability to manage future pest risks and investigate potential diversification into new markets. The project will be carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and is funded in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture & Lands, Forestry, Marine Resources & Cooperatives in Grenada and The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) of the World Trade Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

With a projected annual value of US 2.6 million, the soursop industry in Grenada is thriving and robust with the United States of America (USA) as its main export market. The lack of two pests—the fruit borer and the seed borer allows the island to have advantageous access to this market. Additionally, due to the large number of immigrant communities in the USA, soursop has become more popular over the years.

Equally important is an estimated 2,600 farmers, most of them being small-scale farmers, who rely on soursop for their livelihood with farming as their primary source of income. Due to the industry’s significant earnings and potential for further expansion, increasing soursop production and export has been given priority in Grenada’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2020–2035. This has led to the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries, and Cooperatives.

The launch of this project was attended by 30 participants including officials from the Ministry of Agriculture as well as other stakeholders. During the workshop, several key project topics were discussed including developing a holistic surveillance programme and emergency response, strengthening the capacities of government institutions on monitoring, detection, response, certification and traceability systems, and strengthening the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for famers, private sector and extension services. The workshop also focused on boosting the soursop industry to manage future risks and expand market access.

In offering remarks at the workshop, Dr Renata Clarke, FAO’s Sub-regional Coordinator stated, “The Standards and Trade Development Facility’s financial contribution is more than matched by the government’s own contribution. I have been hearing about the programs of the government to support extension and outreach to farmers so that they can implement good practices. It is also matched by FAO’s past and ongoing support to the soursop value chain. So, all the partners have skin in the game. In closing, I am counting on the government and on you national stakeholders to make this an exemplary project. Many eyes will be on you. Your partners STDF and FAO will be supporting you throughout and I look forward to sharing the satisfaction for a job well done at the end”.

Meanwhile, Catalina Pulido, STDF’s Economic Affairs Officer highlighted that this is the first project that her organization will finance in Grenada. She indicated, “Lessons learned are expected to be disseminated within the Caribbean and other regions and applied to other value chains of interest for different commodities in Small Island Developing States. This inception workshop will be key to validate with all relevant stakeholders, the project’s logical framework which states the project’s main goal, expected outcomes and outputs, as well as indicators of success”.

During the workshop, Vermaran Extavour, Value Chain Expert and Project Coordinator spoke on FAO’s gender equality policy aimed at achieving equality as part of the elimination of hunger and poverty. She stated, “Our work includes value chain development for soursop and recorded 80 percent men in production, and 80 percent women in processing, while youth also play role in harvesting and production”.

Thaddeaus Peters, Pest Management Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture provided a comprehensive insight into pest management for the soursop industry in Grenada, while Juliet Goldstein of The Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAFSA) provided an overview of the organization’s pest intervention initiatives in Grenada.

Melvin Medina Navarro, FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Officer who is leading the workshop gave an in-depth overview of the project. He indicated, “This project is extremely important for Grenada to improve farmers’ livelihoods maintaining access to export market in the USA. The project will work to strength national capacities to keep the country free of quarantine pest and engage with private sector to increase quality standards.

Navarro added that the workshop was important and timely as the organization celebrates and acknowledges The International Day of Plant Health on May 12 which calls on everyone to raise awareness and take action to keep our plants healthy and ensure food safety and safe trade for sustainable economies and livelihoods. (PR)

Agriculture

FAO and UNICEF promote robust social protection systems for climate change adaptation

FAO and UNICEF organized a workshop in Bridgetown, Barbados, on strengthening social protection systems in the Caribbean. The event brought together experts and regional leaders to promote better adaptation to climate change through robust social protection systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) hosted the regional workshop “Strengthening Social Protection Systems in the Caribbean to Adapt to Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges” on May 15 and 16 in Bridgetown, Barbados. The event brought together leaders and experts from the Caribbean region to promote cooperation in adapting social protection systems to the challenges of climate change and strengthening resilience to natural disasters.

*Dr Renata Clarke, FAO’s Sub-Regional Coordinator who offered remarks at the opening of the Workshop on Strengthening Social Protection Systems in the Caribbean to Adapt to Climate Change.*

Over two days, they discussed the nexus between social protection and climate change, and how the former can enhance mitigation and adaptation in the Caribbean. The workshop aimed to integrate social protection as a key component in the update of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and provided a space for the exchange of experiences and good practices.

Mr Jehu Wiltshire, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs in #Barbados tells the delegates of some of the challenges faced by the “climate crisis” & the importance of #SocialProtection

It also explored opportunities for integrating social protection agendas with climate change mitigation, adaptation and management agendas, and looked at the financial landscape of climate change, identifying key entry points for social protection.

Special attention was given to key territories such as Barbados, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Jamaica (with World Bank funding), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The event marked an important step towards the development of stronger, more adaptive social protection systems that can effectively respond to the growing challenges of climate change in the region.

The recommendations developed are expected to guide future strategies, policies and actions to ensure greater resilience in the Caribbean. (PR)

Agriculture

World Tuna Day hooked on improving the sustainability of tuna and tuna-like species

The Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission and The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas outline a plan in signed cooperative framework.

Across the globe, World Tuna Day was celebrated on May 2, 2024, bringing issues to light about the importance of tuna conservation. In observing the trend of landings over the past three years, Jeremie Mendoza, FAO’s Fisheries Specialist highlighted that overall, there is a slight increase in landings in WECAFC from 2021 to 2022 in the order of 50,000 tons mainly due to small pelagic, which represent around 46% of total landings. Tunas, bonitos, and billfishes show a significant reduction of around 20,000 tons from 2021 to 2022. The overwhelming demand for tuna due to its economic and health benefits makes it necessary to improve regional collaboration and governance.

Consequently, the recent Exchange of Letters between the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) centers on five crucial aspects of enhancing fisheries management. These include organizing and taking part in working groups that are pertinent to both organizations, cooperating in the creation of regional and fishery management plans, enhancing data collection and accessibility for use in fisheries management and stock status determinations, organizing joint activities, such as research and capacity building projects, and aligning perspectives regarding cooperation and coordination with pertinent international processes and agreements. The Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) which is a challenge for fishers in the Caribbean will also be addressed along with training activities and workshops.

During the 19^th Session of WECAFC held in Barbados from September 6 – 8 2023, the agreement was tabled marking the end of four years of intense negotiations between the ICCAT and WECAFC. During his recent mission to Barbados in March 2024, Mr. Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General & Director Fisheries and Aquaculture Division and Yvette Diei Ouadi, FAO Sub-regional Fishery and Aquaculture Officer and Secretary of WECAFC signed the agreement.

The move underlines the importance of conservation management to ensure that systems are in place to prevent tuna stocks from depleting. Many countries depend heavily on tuna resources for food security and nutrition, economic development, employment, government revenue, livelihoods, culture, and recreation. To this end, the United States of America (USA) contributed more than $100,000 to support for collaborative work of WECAFC and ICCAT on capacity building efforts throughout the wider Caribbean.

“Encouraging results have been observed from the efforts of tuna RFMOs, which are utilizing management strategy evaluations to restore stocks to sustainable levels”, said Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division. “Scaling up these results is crucial, not only to foster sustainable resource utilization within ecosystem boundaries, but also for safeguarding the livelihoods of communities reliant on these resources”.

In speaking about the importance of the agreement, Ms Zakia DRIOUICH, First Vice-Chair of ICCAT stated, “Thanking WECAFC for its commitment, ICCAT welcomes the conclusion of a formal framework through the exchange of letters between our two organizations, contributing to the strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation with a view to achieving our respective objectives. We are convinced that its implementation will contribute to better management of our common challenges”.

Ms Yvette Diei Ouadi, FAO Caribbean Sub-regional Fishery and Aquaculture Officer and Secretary of WECAFC expressed immense pleasure for reaching this landmark. She acknowledged and praised the coordinated efforts of Mr Camille Jean Pierre Manel, Executive Secretary of ICCAT. “Manel and I engaged in dialogue since 2019 following the recommendation of the Commission. We are steadily preparing to shape the priorities drawing from the 5 key actions of the Agreement for immediate implementation. This includes ensuring an enhanced reporting of WECAFC members to ICCAT on the species at focus. The extent of existing threats to marine biodiversity and marine living resources to be countered and emerging issues, command to be proactive in fostering improved governance and promoting commonalities, which is secured through this cooperative framework”. (PR)

Caption: Mr. Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General & Director Fisheries and Aquaculture Division and Yvette Diei Ouadi, FAO Sub-regional Fishery and Aquaculture Officer and Secretary of WECAFC with the signed the agreements in 3 languages.