Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Opening Statement by Honorable Ignatius Jean at the
Inter American Board of Agriculutre (IABA)
August 30th, 2005

Mr. Chairman, distinguished Ministers of Agriculture of the Hemisphere, Director General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.

As Chairman of the Board of Governors of CARDI, our premier research and development institution in the Caribbean, I am indeed honoured to do the presentation of the CARDI BIENNIAL REPORT to you.

On behalf of my colleague Ministers of the Member States of CARDI, I wish to convey again our congratulations and sincere best wishes to Dr. Chelston Braithwaite on his re-appointment as Director General of IICA.

We also wish to thank IICA for their continued support to our regional transformation programme in the Caribbean, also known as the Jagdeo Initiative, a programme of action for the regional transformation of agriculture, adopted by the CARICOM Heads of Government, and named after H.E. President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana, the lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agricultural matters.

The Jagdeo Initiative is intended to place our agriculture on the front burner.  Indeed the “future will never be what it used to be,” to quote someone else. And we have all heard about the fate of bananas, sugar, and rice in our region. But we are not a people who give up easily. We will continue to fight for our survival.

We are resolved to the sustainable use of our terrestrial and marine resources, to ensure the enhancement of the quality of life for all our people. Without agriculture, we will face greater challenges of maintaining social peace in our region.

CARDI is charged with the responsibility for finding new ways for the survival of our agriculture, and to give support to our food security agenda, and the sustainability of livelihoods of our rural people.

We are resolved to maintain and enhance our very good relations with IICA. We also believe that IICA provides the opportunity for forging and enhancing the linkages with our neighbours in the hemisphere.

I am sure that most of you know that CARDI is the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute which was established by the Governments of the CARICOM member States in 1975. We are in the 30^th year of our existence as the premier research and development institute for the sub-region.

This report period coincides with the final two years of the third decade of CARDI. During the period under review, we have had the reaffirmation of the commitment of the Heads of Government to CARDI.

Our Board of Governors and Board of Directors have mandated improved governance and management, particularly for improved accountability and transparency for CARDI’s viability and sustainability.

The people of our region, now more than ever, are demanding the highest levels of accountability and transparency from institutions which they pay for.

With your indulgence Mr. Chairman, I will now invite one of our senior technical officers, Mr. Francis Asiedu to continue the technical part of the presentation.