Group ‘not connected’ to Singh

A press statement was release on Saturday by the President of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Dhano Sookoo, stating that their organi­sation does not support the People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate Avinash Singh, who is 24 year old farmer based in Chaguanas.

Dhano Sookoo statement:

"The Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago wishes to disclaim itself from statements made in the media whereas it was reported that the ASTT is in support of Mr Avinash Singh, PNM candidate for Chaguanas West.....Please be advised that the president of the Agricultural Society and its committee of management and members of staff [are] in no way associated with Mr Avinash Singh and the PNM political campaign in the constituency of Chaguanas West."

Adapted from the Trinidad Express Newspaper

Analytical Frameworks for Assessing ICT and Agribusiness Ecosystems For Application in Ghana and Kenya

The use of Analytical Frameworks to assess the support market system for start-up businesses in the ICT and agribusiness sectors is now being explored. Analytical frameworks will assist with "Terms of Reference (ToR) for carrying out start-up ecosystem assessments in Ghana and Kenya". The ToR is for projects that “support available locally for entrepreneurs in both the ICT and agribusiness sectors including university-run programmes, business incubators/accelerators, training providers and financiers (angel investors and VCs).”

The different types of Analytical Frameworks of interest are M4P and other frameworks and methodologies that support the  the proper evaluation of the ecosystem for innovative, technology-oriented start-up businesses in a particular country. This frame work will aid in the evaluation of:

• Existing institutions, 
• Gaps in the provision of support, 
• Ways in which the ecosystems may best be strengthened 

To read more on the use of the Analytical Frameworks, please click the link below:

Analytical Frameworks for Assessing ICT and Agribusiness Ecosystems For Application in Ghana and Kenya

Rwanda: Gap Still Deep Between ICT and Agriculture

Market sellers in Rwanda state that it is sometimes difficult to determine the market price of goods due to the fact that there is no common system of crop information. However, they are able to get some information pertaining to crop prices when market prices are reported via the radio and television.

The Director General of ICT,the Ministry of Youth and ICT, states that technology can improve the link between buyers and sellers of the agriculture product. 

One form of technology is e-Soko. e-Soko is a system that can be consulted via mobile phones or computers. It is capable of providing information on market prices, which  gives the buyer options of where to purchase and sellers information to determine how much quantity to offer. This system has the potential to stabilize market prices as well as sensitize the agriculture sector to the use of ICT.

To read more: Rwanda: Gap Still Deep Between ICT and Agriculture

Gov’t urged to safeguard fisheries sector from oil spillage

Building Business on Values, Integrity and Dignity (B-BOVID), an indigenous agro-based company in the Western Region of Ghana, has tasked the youth to venture into aqua-culture, saying it’s a viable and attractive career path for unemployed youth. They believe that this transformation would enhance youth development and help avert total dependency on crude oil and other natural resources in the country.

The company promotes a new model of socially inclusive commercial farming, combining innovative agricultural practices, ecological farming and social entrepreneurship to deliver high quality organic products.

Furthermore, they operate on the values of improving the lives of the people, the planet and profits (PPP) by conserving the environment, promoting sustainable lifestyles, creating jobs and reducing poverty in rural communities. 

They also offer Information Communication Technology (ICT) training to local farmers, students and promotes sustainable organic agriculture and profitable agribusiness for smallholder farmers.

To read more on this article, Gov’t urged to safeguard fisheries sector from oil spillage 

Indian edible veg, root, tuber exports for June '13 decrease in numbers

In June 2013, Indian's edible vegetable as well as different root and tuber exports displayed a decreased of 65.91 percent in comparison to May 2013. 

These figures are based on the tabulation of one of Indian's premier import-export research companies (Infodrive Indian) and the export shipping bills documented at the Indian Customs by exporters. 

According to the analysis, the main products were coffee, tea, meat and spices.

To read more, Indian edible veg, root, tuber exports for June '13

Rwanda to Host ICT Conference On Agriculture

From November 4 to 8, Rwanda will host an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Agriculture international conference.
This conference will allow participants to explore solutions that will promote the application of ICTs in the Agriculture sector while focusing on areas, such as value chain, advocacy and policy development.

In addition, the conference is intended to address the following:

• Issues in agriculture that can be addressed using ICTs, 
• How ICTs are truly empowering producers and consumers along entire value chain, 
• Developments taking place in this area, 
• ICT trends and their impact on agriculture and rural development capacity building, enabling environments and sustainability.

To read more, please click the link provided Rwanda to Host ICT Conference On Agriculture

Food and Agriculture agency head shows support for Caribbean

Dr. Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO Director General, attended the Opening Ceremony of a packed conference held on the 40th anniversary of CARICOM’s founding. He met with President of Guyana and Lead Head of Government for Agriculture, Dr. Ronald Ramoutar, Prime Ministers of the Bahamas, Grenada and St. Kitts, Mr. Perry Christie, Dr. Keith Mitchell and Dr. Denzil Douglas, respectively, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Dominica and Suriname.

Dr. Graziano, who has headed FAO since January 2012, took the opportunity to personally outline a series of changes and reforms which are making the Organization more efficient and responsive to Member Countries’ needs. He also spoke about FAO’s new strategic objectives and its focus, not just on the reduction, but the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. He reiterated that hunger levels are impacted by climate change, disaster resilience, governance, inclusion and access and offered the Organization’s help in dealing with those challenges...

To read the full article: Food and Agriculture agency head shows support for Caribbean

Jamaican Pig Farmers to Benefit from CPJ-led Export Thrust

Caribbean Producers Jamaica Ltd, (CPJ) has identified several markets for the commercial export of Jamaican pork.

Pig farmers will benefit from the export, as CPJ will target markets in St Maarten, St Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Aruba, and Curacao.

To drive the exports, CPJ has joined Sweet River Abattoir, one of the leading slaughterhouses in Jamaica that handles pigs supplied by almost 400 farmers from across the island.

Sweet River is building a new US$3-million abattoir in Westmoreland and farmers have also invested approximately US$3-million in growing operations in order to take advantage of the export opportunities. These investments will feed directly into CPJ's US$5-million, state-of-the-art meat processing plant at its Montego Bay headquarters....

To read more Jamaican Pig Farmers to Benefit from CPJ-led Export Thrust

Adapted from The Pig Site.

Ministry of Agriculture set to review Root and Tuber policy

Roots and tuber crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes are now the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize.

Kenya’s total production of potatoes in 2011 was 2.6 million tonnes valued at 327 million U.S. dollars from 135,924 hectares of land.The production of sweet potatoes also increased from an area of 61,902 ha with a production of 759,471 tonnes valued at 242 million dollars in 2011 to an area of 66,971 ha with a production of 859,549 tonnes valued at 310 million dollars in 2012.

The government has also provided funding for agricultural training centres to carry out seed potato multiplication to the tune of 350,000 dollars.

Adapted from Coastweek. 

To read more: Ministry of Agriculture set to review Root and Tuber policy

International Conference on Roots and Tubers

The Central Tuber Crops Research Institute in Indian held a four-day international conference, which began on July 9. The event was organised with the assistance of the Indian Society for Root Crops (ISRC). The main theme of the conference was "Tropical Roots and Tubers for Sustainable Livelihood under Changing Agro-cimate". 

The objective of the conference was to discuss the role of tropical tuber crops for food and livelihood security of millions of people of tropical world under changing agro-climate. 

Agriculture representatives  from India, USA, Colombia, Pery, China, Switzerland, Germany, Nigeria, and Thailand, just to name a few, were in attendance

To read more: International Conference on Roots and Tubers

Women on the Land: Creating Conscious Community

Documentary presents women’s role in agriculture; Local women contribute with music, paintings:

Many women have played key roles in agriculture through the years, working by themselves or with family members to produce enough food to feed themselves, with maybe enough left over to bring to market and make some money. 

A documentary film titled Women on the Land: Creating Conscious Community, will be featured in two upcoming performances at TSJC. The film will be shown on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 6-8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 9, from 2-4 p.m. at the Massari Theater on the TSJC campus. Admission is $5, with children 12 and under getting in free.

Local artist Jaquie Gipson, who did the soundtrack for the film, will perform live during the screening. Original paintings by artist Karen Howl, based on scenes from the film, will be available for viewing. Amanda Gray, who is featured in the film, will speak about her experiences as a skilled farmer and goatherd.

Adapted from The Trinidad Times. To read more on  Women’s role in agriculture

Identify Emerging Issues for Youths in Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Office of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Trinidad and Tobago in partnership with the Agribusiness Society of the University of the West Indies (ABS) hosted an Agri-Youth Symposium entitled, "To Identify Emerging Issues for Youths in Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago".

The Agribusiness Society (ABS) is a student organization, whose members consist of undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Faculty of Food and Agriculture within the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine campus, Trinidad. It's mandate is "to create conditions conducive to the development of agri-preneurs by empowering students through practical and theoretical learning, professional growth, networking service, innovation and entrepreneurship".

ABS focus is to "sensitize fellow students and the public to the scale of opportunities available for developing agriculture as a career choice through agribusiness and other related fields".


To read more: Identify Emerging Issues for Youths in Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago.

Plans underway for Caribbean agriculture week in October

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) made public their arrangements for moving forward with the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) event. 

The theme of the CWA event is ‘Linking the Caribbean for Regional Food and Nutrition Security and Rural Development.’ The CWA event will be held in Guyana (hosted by the local Government) from October 4 - 12, 2013 featuring fisheries and forestry. 

The objective of the event is to "enable the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors to better acknowledge the importance of agriculture and rural life to the economic, social and environmental stability of the region [and] [i]t is also geared to provide major stakeholders in agriculture and related sectors with an opportunity to dialogue and forge a common vision for the repositioning of agriculture and the enhancement of rural life."

Activities will begin on October 4, 2013 with a formal opening on October 9, 2013. 

To read more on CWA's upcoming activities, please click the link provided: 
Plans underway for Caribbean agriculture week in October

Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago: How Do We Move Forward?

From Farming to Agribusiness:

Dr. Sharon Hutchinson, Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, UWI, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad states the following:

By the 1960s, the plantation economy of Trinidad and Tobago looked like so many others in the Caribbean, typified by the presence of several large farms owned by the social upper class. The agricultural sector grew largely due to the export of raw agricultural products to the UK and other European countries. 

In 1965, approximately 22 per cent of the labour force was employed in the agricultural sector (Trinidad and Tobago. CSO 1975, 2). By 1977, the key agricultural exports were sugar (139,506 tonnes), molasses (30,768 tonnes), raw cocoa (3,168 tonnes), raw coffee (1,608 tonnes) and citrus (527 tonnes) (Trinidad and Tobago. CSO 1987, 118). The sector was successful mainly because there were well established marketing arrangements and world agricultural product prices were relatively high.

Adapted from First Magazine.
To read more on Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago: How Do We Move Forward?

Regional Strategic Planning and ICT conferences for Fisheries

BELIZE CITY, BELIZE; FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 - The Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, home to the Eastern Caribbean Office of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), will next week host Chief Fisheries Officers, Directors of Fisheries or Senior Fisheries Officers, and Technical ICT Officers responsible for fisheries management, data management and communication from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The regional professionals will be meeting for the ACP Fish II/CRFM regional technical consultation dubbed Strengthening the Capacity of CRFM and its Member States for Information and Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Management of Fisheries in the Caribbean Region, slated for January 28 and 29 at the Sunset Shore Beach Hotel in Kingstown...

To read more on Regional Strategic Planning and ICT conferences for Fisheries 

Adapted from Anguilla News

T&T hosts talks on regional agriculture

Today is the second and final day of a meeting of one of the technical management advisory committees (TMAC) set up by Caricom to look at co-ordination of agricultural research and development in the region. This TMAC was set up to define ways to address one of the ten key binding constraints, as identified in the Jagdeo Initiative, namely “Inadequate Research and Development.” It is led by the Ministry of Agriculture, St Lucia and convened by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Cardi).

Hubert Emmanuel, permanent secretary at St Lucia’s Ministry of Agriculture, is chairing the sessions at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. The Jagdeo Initiative is a strategy for removing constraints to the development of agriculture in the Caribbean. It builds upon past regional efforts to develop a common agricultural policy (CAP) and identifies ten key binding constraints faced by the sector, with resulting necessary actions.

The anticipated outcome of this meeting is agreement on the way forward for a regional strategy for research and development; a strategy for linkages with Latin America; and identification of essentials to address climate change. 

Officials at this meeting include representatives of Caricom, the Ministry of Food Production, the University of the West Indies, the University of Guyana, the University of T&T, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA).

Adapted from the Guardian Media Limited (Guardian Newspaper).

Tamil Nadu Agriculture varsity to conduct short course on ICT initiative

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has implemented it summer school on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Inclusive Agriculture Development. The start date was July 3, 2013.

The summer school comprises of a  21-day short course on the  potential of ICT driven extension, ICT-based market intelligence, E-commerce and Futures marketing. These topics will assist in the following areas  forecasting, gender mainstreaming, cloud computing, remote sensing and harnessing mobile technology for agriculture advisory service.

The school is sponsored by the Indian Council for Agriculture Research.

The course will be attended by  25 extension scientists from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

To read more on Tamil Nadu Agriculture varsity to conduct short course on ICT initiative, please click the link provided.

ROLES OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE

ICT has played a great role in both the social and economic development of our society. 

The Agriculture Sector has benefited from the ICT revolution and the latest innovation in ICT. The use of ICT in agriculture ranges from old technology to advanced modern technologies, for example radio, television, GPS navigation, satellite communication, and wireless connectivity.

The rural communities are known to lack the basic communication infrastructure, therefore ICT in agriculture would be of benefit in the following ways: 

• Mobile phones - improvement in the efficiency and profitability of the agriculture industry. Mobile phones allows farmers to interact with wholesaler directly.

• Radio and television - sharing of information on various innovation in agricultural technology.

• The internet - rural communities can stay up to date by sending and receiving information about the market and other necessary information in the industry. 

In order for farmers to part take in today's business more information and technology is needed.

To read more: ROLES OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE