The First Official Meeting and Study Tour of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Ministers of Agriculture, along with women and youth leaders in agriculture, began today at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in San José, Costa Rica.
Delivering the keynote address, IICA Director General Manuel Otero welcomed delegates to what he described as “the home of agriculture in the Americas,” and hailed the gathering as a “historic event” marking a deepening of cooperation between the OECS and IICA.
This study tour is a historic event and is expected to provide a unique opportunity for interaction amongst IICA personnel, Ministers of Agriculture, youth and women,in advancing the OECS FAST Strategy, a key regional framework for agricultural development.
The week-long event, supported through IICA’s Hemispheric Programme on Women and Youth, includes a specially organized Forum for OECS Youth and Women with participation from Ministers of Agriculture, alongside capacity-building workshops in entrepreneurship, advocacy, and digital agriculture.
Highlighting the strategic partnership between IICA and the OECS, Otero recalled the signing of successive Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in 2018 and 2021, with a third MoU scheduled to be signed during the current visit.
“In the last five years alone, IICA has invested more than USD 3.5 million in the OECS member states,” he stated, emphasizing that this figure excludes additional resources provided by external donors.
The IICA Director also confirmed the continued deployment of a dedicated IICA Technical Specialist, Mr. Mandille Alcee, to support the implementation of the OECS FAST Strategy, a framework that aligns with both national and regional priorities.
“In a similar vein, we have also pledged our full support as a key stakeholder in assisting CARICOM in achieving its Vision 25 by 2025,” he declared, pointing to a special regional allocation of USD 250,000 launched last year to boost food and nutrition security, from which OECS countries have been beneficiaries.
Otero detailed IICA’s interventions in post-disaster recovery across the region, referencing natural disasters in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
He cited donations and technical aid facilitated through partnerships with countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile.
“Argentina has been especially generous and has financed two installations of the ApiCaribe project aimed at accelerating the development of the apiculture industry in the Caribbean Region,” he said.
Otero announced that IICA will roll out more than USD 500,000 worth of new initiatives this year to directly support the OECS. These include:
AgriTalent Programme of the Americas: Offering ten semester-long internships for OECS youth, with support from the University of the West Indies through IICA’s School of Leaders.
Quality Seed Programme for Disaster Response: Aimed at strengthening climate resilience through access to high-quality seeds.
Regional Fusarium TR4 Initiative: To combat the plant disease threatening plantain and banana crops.
IICA-CATIE Small Ruminant Programme: Targeting the reduction of meat import dependency by strengthening small ruminant production and related value chains.
Strategic Partnerships Strengthening Initiative: To leverage development partnerships in both public and private sectors for regional benefit.
He also highlighted broader regional collaborations through General Technical Cooperation Agreements (GTCA) with several institutions, including the OECS Commission, CARICOM Secretariat, UWI, CARDI, and CDEMA, with ongoing renewals underway with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) and the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF).
In closing, the IICA Director General issued a direct appeal to the youth delegates: “You are the future. Participate fully, engage and ask questions, network and share your experiences… replicate what you have learned to your benefit.”
The study tour brings together policymakers, youth, and women in agriculture from Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Dominica. It is expected to foster stronger linkages and catalyze tangible progress in advancing sustainable and resilient food systems across the OECS.
