ISSN 1991-2315

AgriView is published every trimester by the Inter-

American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
(IICA) with financing from the Technical Centre for
Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)

Information today for Agriculture tomorrow Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009

The business of
agriculture has
never looked
healthier
No Kidding!
They say ...our children
are our future, feed
them well and watch
them grow! With
concerns over child
obesity and the future of
agriculture, getting our
children interested in
‘eating what they grow’,
literally, may be the
most sustainable model
to link good business,
good agriculture and
good health. The goat
industry is shaing up
to be one of these
sustainable models for
agriculture and rural
development.
Go-at cheese?
 In this Issue...
AV zeroes in on two main topics. One promotes the process and
agenda of the Fifth Ministerial on Agriculture and Rural Life of the
Americas, taking place in Jamaica in October; the other promotes
a sound methodological and strategic approach to agricultural
development using the Value Chain Analysis or Methodology.
Both areas are inter-related and complement each other. AV
combines these two topics in this issue to underscore that
hemispheric and regional policy dialogue, at the highest level,
is inextricable linked to national actions to develop and integrate
sustainable livelihoods and business in agriculture.
AV includes a special 4-page supplement on the Fifth
Ministerial for your information and guidance. The Fifth Ministerial
Meeting will focus on the challenges faced by countries of the
hemisphere in agriculture and rural life, food security and
sustainable development, as well as the strategic response
required to address those challenges, including capacity building
at the local and hemispheric level. These will be reflected in the
adoption of Jamaica 2009 Hemispheric Ministerial Agreement (s)
updating the AGRO 2003-2015 Plan. The supplement begins with
an identification of the main topics for discussion, for each, noting
key aspects that stakeholders, particularly those unfamiliar with
the process, should seek to clarify. AV also provides a Caribbean
Ministers ‘Who’s Who’, among the 34 Ministerial ‘movers and
May - August 2009, Vol. 14, No.2, ISSN-1991-2315; CaRC/TT-03/09
The Gift of Goat
Moving Agriculture from ‘Sector’ to ‘Value Chains’
Alleviating Constraints to Building Competitive Value Chains
Placing the ‘Value Chain’ in context
SPECIAL CENTRE-PAGE PULLOUT
Ministerial Matters - Agenda Jamaica 2009
Agriculture being positioned to tackle the ‘silent tsunami’ in the Americas
Caribbean Ministers of Agricuture - Who’s Who
Snapshot of actions taken by Caribbean Countries to enhance food security
Growing Agri-business - one enterprise at a time!
TTABA .. creating links and adding value to local produce
The Value of Shared Experiences
Investing in Nutrition - Building Capacity for CARICOM’s Food Needs
Is there a place for Regional Policy in building Competitive Agriculture?
Publications to look out for...
Investing by Nutrition
2 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009
shakers’, ‘affected and interested’ stakeholders that will share a
common platform for dialogue and decision making in Jamaica.
Integral to the positioning of agriculture and rural
life issues on the agenda of the Summit of the Americas and
management of the process thereafter, through the Ministerial
Process, is the promotion of agriculture as strategic to the lives
and livelihoods of millions of rural peoples and economies of the
Americas. A key strategy that will enable agriculture to contribute
to rural and economic development is business development.
Recently, countries of the Americas have been taking a
very serious look at the Value Chain Approach for business
development. This means building integrated value chains
forged through partnerships, alliances, dialogue and cooperation
and commitment of actors from farm-to-table. The success of
CARICOM in enhancing food security and rural life, harmonising
agriculture policy within the CSME Single
Development Vision and growing competitive business,
one enterprise at a time, will all depend on how far and how fast
the region can build successful agriculture on the principles of
the value chain approach. In this regard, AV highlights models
and experiences for developing business in agriculture and
perspectives on the role of regional policy in adding value to
national agricultural development efforts.
2 COVER PHOTO
4 Young boy savouring goat
6 cheese and Crix crackers
6
10
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12
13
14
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14
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 Got Goat?
One could say that ‘goat’ is making a comeback. But that would be incorrect since it
had never left. Almost all CARICOM countries have a history of goat rearing and “small
ruminants are considered to be an established and important feature of Caribbean
agriculture. They not only play a significant role in the economy of the small farmers,
but also in agricultural diversification initiatives geared to reducing the dependence on
a narrow range of export crops”.
Despite this importance, however, local production satisfies only a small per-
centage of demand with shortfalls satisfied mainly with imports from New Zealand
and Australia.1 In 2009, there is still a growing and unmet demand for the fresh local
product, perceived as being a healthier with better quality and flavour characteristics.
This demand exists at the level of both consumers who buy from community butchers
buyers in upscale supermarkets and hospitality establishments. The traditional goat
products have been meat, milk and leather goods. However, in these times, goat rear-
ing for an expanded range of by-products is not-so-quietly carving out a space for itself
in the expanding business of agriculture, at least among an enterprising group of goat
farmers in Trinidad. Goat cheese, yoghurt, soap and body lotion are being positioned
to fill markets in the Caribbean and beyond.
August 5th marked an historic occasion for the goat industry in Trini-
dad. It was the first time that commercially produced pasteurised goat milk
was promoted and offered for sale. It sold faster than hot bread!
According to John Borely, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Goat and Sheep Soci-
ety (TTGSS), dairy goat farming has a rich history in Trinidad and Tobago. The original
Trinidad and Tobago Goat Society, formed since 1922, is one of the country’s oldest
agricultural organisations. After a lapse in activity, the society was revived, initially in
1987 and again in 1991. It has persevered since then, evolving into the (TGSS). In
Trinidad, the goat and sheep industry is divided into meat producers, primarily sheep
farmers, despite the greater popularity of goat meat and a small number of dairy goat
farmers. The meat from goat and sheep is traditionally marketed in unsophisticated
roadside stalls or as live animals for the religious festival markets. Dairy goat farmers
are mainly dedicated backyard, urban hobbyists that sell raw milk from their farm gates
occasionally. However, goat cheese and imported goat milk is now a common sight on
grocery shelves. Globally and locally, consumers seem to be growing in awareness of
the great reputation that goat milk has as a culinary and health product.
The TTGSS President noted that a major challenge is how to meet the demand for high quality products from traditional,
low-output farming systems. To this end, the dairy goat farmers have prioritised their needs to the TTGSS accordingly- assistance with
marketing and their need for better quality stock. In response, the TTGSS mounted a series of activities aimed at meeting farmers’
needs. A rearing and sharing programme was initiated by the TTGSS and facilitated through the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and
Tobago (ASSTT). This was implemented as part of the industry’s development objective of improving the supply of high quality milk and
meat. Under programme, good quality stock were imported and ‘shared’ among farmers on the condition that they would give an equal
number of the pure bred offspring back to the programme, a sort of ‘revolving goat stock’ to benefit other farmers. Other key elements
of the industry’s development programme increasing the demand and developing the market for milk and meat and activities to sustain
the sector, such as, strengthening capacity in farm management, grass/fodder production, an information hub and an annual show and
conference. The TTGSS is positioning itself as an industry association facilitating growth and development through the involvement of
all the stakeholders in the industry - producers, processors, technical support, educators, input suppliers etc.

1 Upscaling the marketing of small ruminant products in the Caribbean - The challenges. Asiedu F H, Gibson N, John M and Ansari H. 2007 Caribbean
Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), A paper presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society, San Jose,
Costa Rica, 16-21 September 2007 3) http://cfcs.eea.uprm.edu/CFCS%20Proceedings.htm

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 3

Moving Agriculture from Sector to Value Chains
“80% of the global trade in goods currently takes place along
value chains in which each link represents a different task. At
present, many producers in developing countries are either
completely excluded from value chains or obliged to compete
with products that offer only few opportunities for local added
value – typically agricultural products.” 2
The importance of the ‘value chain’ approach cannot be
ignored. This has implications for regional policies and programmes
that seek to facilitate the achieving of sustainable agriculture
development in member states. It should also inform the process
towards regional coordination and collaboration on a number of
institutional and trade issues. Article 56 of the Revised Treaty
of Chaguaramas defines agricultural development goals as the
transformation into an internationally competitive, environmentally
sound and sustainable sector that contributes to improved income
and employment opportunities, food and nutrition security and
poverty alleviation. While it is clear that there will be competing
interests, conflicts and trade-offs in terms of efficiently meeting
each of these objectives, one thing remains clear – these objectives
are mutually-reinforcing and integral parts of the sustainable
development philosophy that will require careful and effective
response at all levels, particularly regarding coordinated policy for
agriculture at the national and regional levels.
However, the term ‘agriculture’ is still subjected to varying
definitions and interpretations in the Caribbean. From as early as
the 1950s, agricultural activity was extended beyond the farm,
as defined by Davis and Goldberg (1957), as ‘the sum total of all
operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm
supplies; production operations on the farm; and the storage,
processing and distribution of farm commodities and the items made
from them’. The US 2000 Famine Prevention and Freedom from
Hunger Improvement Act defined agriculture as ‘the science and
practice of activities related to production, processing, marketing,
distribution, utilization and trade of food, fibre and feed’. In
today’s world, there may need to be additional
elements, particularly fuel. The World Trade
Organisation (WTO) Agreement on
Agriculture defines of ‘agriculture’ to
include all agricultural products,
most processed agricultural
products, as well as a few
specific products, such
as, hides, skins
and raw silk,
wool
2 www.deza.admin.ch/en/Home/Themes/Employment_and_the_
economy/Private_Sector_Development/Value_chains_and_cluster_
4 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009
and cotton. Fish and fish
products are not covered. As
these definitions indicate agriculture is not
synonymous with farming or primary production. Such narrow
definitions do not reflect the emerging reality for agriculture.
Recognising the extent of agriculture, and to avoid
terminology confusion, IICA has been using terms such as, agri-
food system and more recently, ‘value chains’, the latter not
specifying whether it is food, fibre, feed, fuel or other product or
service. ‘Value chains’ is increasingly being used to promote and
foster with greater level of integration and cooperation from farm
to table. In fact, the establishment of the Caribbean AgriBusiness
Association (CABA), The Alliance for Sustainable Development
of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu and its various components,
including CABA, rural women associations and agro-tourism, have
been part of IICA’s thrust to promote greater chain integration. The
value chain conceptually and operationally eliminates the long
standing gap between the farm and other aspects of the agriculture
and food industry. Agriculture should thus be viewed and analysed
as a diverse group of entrepreneurs, of all sizes, that may or may
not enter into alliances and partnerships through supply or value
chains.
The recent global food crisis driven, in part, by the
spiralling cost of fuel and shortages in grains, meats and basic food
items, provides the most urgent basis for a coordinated response.
This situation has generated an overwhelming consensus among
public policy makers, civil society and the private sector, that
CARICOM countries need to sustain a greater level of food-
security based on efficiency-based import displacement. Prior to
this global food crisis, public policy discourse among CARICOM
States had already admitted to a crisis of confidence regarding the
positioning of the region’s agriculture in an increasingly globalised
market (Antoine, 2009). These concerns over the rising cost of food
and products has led to a rethinking, if not renewed interest, in
securing some component of the region’s food and nutrition needs
from within the region. The value chain approach provides a well-
proven and feasible option for the region to pursue, post-haste, its
agricultural development objectives.
‘… CARICOM countries must vigorously pursue productivity
advances, through technical change and innovation, as well
as the more efficient use of production factors, product and
process diversification, as the central drivers for agricultural
development generally, and importantly, for raising incomes
among the predominantly small but also medium and large
sized agri-food firms.3
3 ‘Implementing the CARICOM Community Agriculture Policy (CCAP) ~
Issues, Options and Process’, Patrick Antoine, 2009, IICA-CTA, ISBN13:
Alleviating Constraints to Building Competitive Value Chains
Alleviating key binding constraints, generating competitive
business and building capacity for enhanced food security and
rural life in CARICOM will continue to be elusive goals if the re-
gion drags its feet on taking an integrated and chain approach
to agricultural and rural development. .” 2
In 2004, a regional consultation specified nine out of a
long list of constraints to competitive agriculture in CARICOM in-
cluding building integrated and competitive value chains. These
subsequently formed the base for defining the 2005 Regional Strat-
egy for Alleviation of Key Binding Constraints (KBC) (Box 1).
Box 1:
CARICOM Strategy for Alleviation of Key Binding Constraints (KBCs)
1. Limited financing and inadequate levels of new investments
2. Outdated/inefficient agricultural health and food safety systems
3. Inadequate research and development
4. Fragmented and disorganised private sector
5. Weak land and water distribution and management measures
6. Deficient and uncoordinated risk management measures
7. Inadequate transportation systems, particularly for perishables
8. Weak and non-integrated information and intelligence systems
and weak linkages and participation in growth market segments
9. Lack of skilled and quality human resources.
It is common practice in agriculture to name an industry and value
chain by the commodity/product – such as, sweet potato, pork or co-
coa value chain. However value chains are built on, driven by and all
about people! Therefore, the quality of human resources (KBC #9)
which will influence the quality of the environment for dialogue and
cooperation among stakeholders is critical to building integrated and
competitive value chains and to organise a fragmented private sec-
tor (KBC #4). Alleviating these inter-related KBCs will involve similar
mechanisms centred on enhancing skills and providing platforms for
open dialogue and equitable participation. This is also critical for
efforts to create critical mass through linkages and chain integra-
tion and to enhance competitiveness and establish market presence
through technology, innovation and good practices.
Most of the other KBCs relate more directly to the quality
of the essential services provided to allow the chain to integrate and
function competitively. However, together, the nine KBCs and inter-
ventions proposed span the range from resource inputs necessary
for increased agricultural production and productivity to the adminis-
trative and institutional framework needed to facilitate change.
Alleviating these nine priority KBCs is fully consistent with
those established under the hemispheric framework to improve
agriculture and rural life in the Americas (AGRO Plan 2003-2015).
As a result, the issues to be discussed at the upcoming Agriculture
Ministerial hold much relevance for the regional process. This could
greatly enhance and accelerate implementation of the regional pro-
cess through strategic alliances made with hemispheric partners
that possess proven experience in some key areas, such as, agri-
cultural insurance for risk mitigation, such as, Brazil, Colombia, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.4
Implementation of the KBC alleviation strategy is being
elaborated and managed by a pre-existing Lead Country/Lead
Agency institutional mechanism. This mechanism, in place since
the 1996 Regional Transformation Programme (RTP) for Agricul-
ture, has been strengthened with “The establishment of a Techni-
cal Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) for each of the Con-
straints, with the Lead Country Minister or his Nominee chairing the
Committee and the Lead Agency having responsibility for ensur-
ing the technical and regional perspectives and synergies and for
coordinating the development and implementation of the (Annual)
Work Programme’. Work Programmes and Plans have now been
developed by the TMACs for each KBC. Work has commenced on
the development and implementation of an Information Platform to
determine, inter alia, the relevance, appropriateness and applica-
bility of existing systems, measuring of progress in achieving food
and nutrition security in the Caribbean and an early warning system
for Food and Nutrition Security.5
There is now greater urgency to make meaningful prog-
ress in alleviating these constraints. This is based on assessment
by major international agencies, including International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and International Food
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) that indicates that the availability
of food is likely to worsen with time since demand is outstripping
supply and productivity has declined, further exacerbated by the
impact of climate change and reduced availability of water for agri-
cultural purposes. This in turn has implications for price levels and
stability and an elevated level of vulnerability to a larger section of
populations to poverty and hunger.
The required response from the region must include
greater political will, increased input of financial and technical
resources for agricultural development, greater emphasis on in-
creased productivity and not just increased production since global
food increases cannot be met through increased allocation of land,
accelerated support to poor and small farmers (in association with
large and medium scale producers) for socio-economic and, in
some countries, governance reasons, achieving a greater level of
Food and Nutrition Security and critically, the alleviation of the key
binding constraints.
These issues will, no doubt, occupy the Ministers, public officials,
heads of organisations, chain participants and other stakeholders
as they deliberate on the progress, challenges, new development
models and strategies for enhancing agriculture’s capacity to con-
tribute to growth and development at the Fifth Agriculture and Rural
Life in the Americas Ministerial, in October in Jamaica.
4 Microfinance and microinsurance in Latin America and the Caribbean:
Situation and Outlook. Jesus Rivera Velasco and Jorge Caro Crapivisnky,
COMMUNIICA, Fifth Year, January-April, 2009 ISSN 1992-4933
5 Information on status of the KBC Alleviation strategy and required regional
response to global challenges provided by Dr. Vincent Little, IICA-CARICOM
AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009
 Placing the Value Chain in Context
Adding value to local farm produce has been on top of the agriculture development agenda for a very
long time. This is based on the recognition that the value of agriculture and food products increases with
the level of processing or transformation. IICA and other development partners, such as the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO), are actively promoting the development of agribusiness using the value
chain methodology (VC) or approach or methodology. AgriView (AV) caught up with the Agri-Business
Caribbean Regional Specialist, Robert Reid, to go beyond terminology and methodology and to deter-
mine whether actors in agriculture in the Caribbean are ready to go VCA/M.

AV>This VC analysis and/or
methodology is not really a new
methodology, is it?
RR>Value chain analysis and the
methodology have been used
quite extensively in North America for some time now basically in
the industrial sector and the car manufacturing business. So it is
nothing that is actually new to the world, but has been more recently
promoted within the Caribbean. As far as agricultural activities are
concerned, there has been a lot of use of the approach in Asia and
more recently in Latin American countries, so we in the Caribbean
are basically recent users of this approach.
AV> I recall in the early 90s when IICA was actively involved with the
French Mission for Technical Cooperation (FMTC) was very active in
the Eastern Caribbean States (ECS), they were promoting what was
the ‘commodity chain analysis’ (CCA). Is there a difference? IICA
is a common thread in Latin America and the Caribbean. Was IICA
instrumental in introducing the methodology in agriculture in CARI-
COM?
RR>Both IICA and FAO have been promoting the methodology, as
well as other private agribusiness concerns that using that approach.
All analytical tools for assessing competitiveness by themselves
don’t make you arrive at a competitive position. With globalisation
people have now come to a position that we need to match analy-
sis with dialogue and a competitiveness agreement between actors
along a particular value chain. So whereas we had the commodity
analysis approach, which was straight analytical work, not matched
to dialogue and agreements among chain actors.
AV>Is it just terminology or is there a major difference between the
CCA and the VCA/M or should the emphasis be on the process?
RR>I would not be splitting hairs over what it is defined as; what is
more important is that we start to develop the capacity to use the in-
struments and tools of analysis. Those tools are broken down to a 5-
stage process where we look at the impact of the international trade
and production and domestic trade and production on value chains;
we look at functionality of these chains; and create circuits; and then
we do interpretation. Once we put all of that together, then we have
dialogue among the actors. So forget about how it is described. Think
instead of the process - that is “the full range of activities required to
bring a product or service through the different phases of production
(including physical transformation, and the input of various produc-
ers and services), in response to consumer demand”.
AV>In the past, and even now, the emphasis has been on export
agriculture and building value added for expanded exports. Is there
an understanding that the instrument and tools can be as effectively
applied to build value chains for domestic/regional food security
needs?
RR>Yes, because what it does is that it allows one to identify and
to remove constraints to gain access to particular markets, even if
these markets are local/regional, and in so doing, to position oneself,
in a competitive manner on a continuous basis. In other words, our
market is a market for our products and as such our farmers are
having a challenge in accessing new market segments, for instance
the fast food chains and in countries with a more recent, yet rapidly
developing hotel and hospitality segment, even too the large super-
market chains. So the methodology is appropriate both for export
and domestic market development.
AV> If it is appropriate; if it is not new; if it is being applied in Latin
American countries and elsewhere, then why has it taken so long to
‘catch-on’ in the Caribbean? Does it have anything to do with defi-
ciencies in policy planning for agriculture?
RR> Well, for things to catch on, we must have people to articulate
it. And I think that you have not had many persons involved in agri-
business per sé who are promoting the whole concept that’s one.
Secondly, we are not having persons even taught agribusiness and
the whole value chain concept coming out of our regional education
institutions. We teach people about discrete things; plant pathology,
etc., but never training them to think about an integrated circuit of
activities.
AV>Can the VCA/M, therefore add value to accelerating progress in
the current strategy aimed at alleviating nine key binding constraints
to agricultural competitiveness?
RR>It must! It must! It is not a scientific thing by itself; it is a mixture
of what they call socio-economic theory. In other words, people have
to sit down to have dialogue, to come to consensus about where
they want to go. So the approach is valid; wherever we are going
with the JI people need to communicate and not to think of them-
selves and discrete entities in a movie.
AV> You are convinced that the VCA/M is the way to go in agriculture
at this stage of its development, the challenges ahead and expecta-
tions of elevated pressures for food security?
RR>I don’t see any other approach! I have used the methodology for
the development of the pork industry in Jamaica and we have seen
whereby the final cut is now competitive to its international supplies
out of Canada. I think that the approach can be applied. I don’t know
if there is another approach that can have any greater benefit. But
you know as we develop over years, we have experiences, there is
now talk about ‘new generation’ producer organisations and you are
saying, ‘how does that fit into the value chains?’ Because here you
are taking about farmer groups now not just being farmer groups or
producers by themselves but taking more of the action downstream,
in terms of developing products for the market. So you will have new
concepts and new ideas coming to bear, but I think the VCA/M will
stand for some time within this region.

6 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009

AV> Do you think the region is ready for going the value-chain way
in policy and business?
RR> As I said, you must have people promoting the concept; and
once you promote the concept then you have to take the next step of
letting people internalise, which is also a process in itself. In order for
them to internalise and move them to action they must see examples
of where it has had positive results. And they must also know the
challenges involved. So here’s where cooperation comes in whereby
IICA takes people and shows them where it works. So to me, it has
to happen; it has to happen. Now is the time, particularly in this period
of food security and where consumers now are asking for more value
for their money. It’s a global market place; they’re consumers are
exposed to products. But to tell you the truth, a lot of our buyers and
consumers would like to get stuff from their own domestic producers
because they have a little more trust in their freshness. But what we
have to do is to build a competitive position and that position can
only come from joint action and understanding what is happening in,
not only the market place, but with the producer himself. Bottom line
is that I think we will be successful with this approach once we have
enough persons articulating it and promoting the position.

The VC in Brief
Extracted from “A Handbook for Value Chain Research”
By Raphael Kaplinsky and Mike Morris (undated) available at http://www.globalvaluechains.org/docs/VchNov01.pdf

At the simplest level value chain analysis (VCA) plots the flow of goods and services up and down the chain and between different chains to
final consumers. This is in itself a valuable task. There is a considerable overlap between the concept of a value chain and similar concepts
used in other contexts. One important source of confusion is that of terminology. There was the ‘value stream” (by Womack, J.P. & D.T Jones,
1996) to refer to what is now called the value chain. There is the French concept of the filiere (translated literally to mean “thread”) that is
essentially no different from value stream or value chain. A third similar concept is that of global commodity chains, introduced by Gereffi, G.
during the mid-1990s, which have enabled important advances to be made in the analytical and normative usage of the value chain concept,
particularly because of its focus on the power relations which are imbedded in VCA or the role of ‘governance’ in terms of either ‘buyer-driven
commodity chains’ or ‘producer-driven commodity chains’.

In this era of rapid globalization, there are three main sets of reasons why VCA is important.
1. With growing division of labour and global dispersion of production of components, systemic competitiveness has become increasingly
important
2. Efficiency in production is only a necessary condition for successfully penetrating global markets
3. Entry into global markets which allows for sustained income growth – that is, making the best of globalisation - requires an understanding
of dynamic factors within the whole value chain

VCA focuses on the dynamics of inter-linkages within the productive sector, especially how firms and countries are globally integrated. It:
• overcomes a number of important weaknesses of traditional sectoral analysis which struggles to deal with dynamic linkages between
productive activities that go beyond that particular sector, whether they are inter-sectoral in nature or between formal and informal sector
activities.
• allows for an easy uncovering of the dynamic flow of economic, organisational and coercive activities between producers within different
sectors even on a global scale by its concentration on inter linkages beyond just the firm-specific analysis.
• makes it easy to analyse the inter-relationship between formal and informal work (with workers, particularly in developing countries,
moving often seamlessly from one to the other) and not to view them as disconnected spheres of activity.
• is particularly useful for new producers – including poor producers and poor countries – who are trying to enter global markets in a manner
which would provide for sustainable income growth.
• is useful as an analytical tool in understanding the policy environment which provides for the efficient allocation of resources within the
domestic economy, notwithstanding its primary use thus far as an analytic tool for understanding the way in which firms and countries
participate in the global economy.

A key strength is that it highlights the systemic interconnectedness of Fig. 1 : V al ue ch ai n m apping : T he o ry and r e a lity
individual enterprises and links in the chain. However, value chains are
complex, and particularly in the middle tiers, individual firms may feed into
a variety of chains. Which chain – or chains – is/are the subject of enquiry
therefore very much depends on the point of entry for the research inquiry.
Some points of entry are retailers, independent buyers, key producers, sub-
suppliers, commodity producers, agricultural producers, small farms and firms,
informal economy producers and traders and women, children and other
marginalised and exploited groups. In each case, the point of entry will define
which links and which activities in the chain are to be subject of special enquiry.
For example, if the concern is with small and medium sized firms which feed
into a number of value chains, then the point of entry might require the research
to focus on final markets, buyers and their buyers in a number of sectors and
on a variety of input providers. Once the point of entry is defined, one of the
problems which arise is that the theory of value chains suggests simplicity and
an easy clarity of focus. However, the real world can be much messier, and the
researcher will sometimes have to make arbitrary decisions on what to map in
charting a path through complex value chains (Fig.1).

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 7

 Forging Chains in Agriculture – one link at a time!
With few exceptions, agricultural diversification
was based on ‘picking’ a few ‘commodities’ that
exhibited the characteristics of a ‘winner’ in
increasingly competitive export markets. Non-
traditional commodities, such as, mango, ginger,
hot pepper, avocado, passion fruit, papaya and
other ‘exotic’ fruits, likely to be more competitive
with better growth potential were ‘picked’. Their
development was driven mainly by externally-
financed regional and national projects to raise
productivity levels, enhance competitiveness,
expand production and encourage value-
adding, where possible, to drive exports. Studies
undertaken by the CARICOM Secretariat under
the Regional Transformation Programme (RTP)
for agriculture concluded that “attempts at
agricultural diversification and the development
of non-traditionals have only experienced limited
success, certainly marginal in quantum relative
to the economic decline being experienced by
the traditionals.” By the end of 2008, a marked
change in the situation was not obvious and it
generally concluded that most government-funded
programmes were too ad-hoc and inadequate
to effectively address limitations of small size
and scale, natural constraints, sectoral wage
imbalances, high input costs, including energy
and limited private sector participation.
Import substitution policies paved the way for investment
in adding value to farmers’ produce to develop agro-processing,
which for most CARICOM countries, was the foundation for their
industrial sector. From all indications, this policy also appears to
have not borne much fruit or, in this case, much jelly. While the
CARICOM landscape is dotted with several small scale enterprises
adding value to local produce, the fewer, but larger CARICOM
agro-processing industries have dominated the structure and
development of the regional agro-processing (food and beverage)
industry. These large firms, classified under the manufacturing
sector, add value more, to imported raw material and agricultural
produce, than to local farm produce. While the CARICOM treaty
emphasises the need to support local content in agro-industry, it
also makes provision for the sourcing of raw material if these cannot
be sourced competitively from regional suppliers. It is this provision
that has, by default, fuelled the reliance on extra-regional imports for
agro-industrial raw material supplies for big business. Hence, while
import-substitution policies spawned a number of these industries,
these same policies also led to an escalation of agriculture and
food import bills in the region as a significant part of the food and
agriculture imports feeds directly into manufacturing firms.
In its 2009 Concept Note for the EU-CARICOM
Agribusiness Development Programme, the CARICOM Secretariat
acknowledged that “the region imports considerably more food
than the amount exported, even in food categories, such as fruit
and vegetables, imports have increased despite sufficient domestic
supplies, in most of the countries, to cover their needs”. By the
end of 2008, the shock of high and rising food prices left many in
awe at the speed in the region could be plunged in a food insecure
situation. The food riots in Haiti, and parts of Latin America and
Africa were wake-up calls. Food and nutrition policies topped
the agenda in all meetings and regional fora and on international
development agencies work programme and projects. The need to
‘pick focussed commodities’ as a strategy to obtain visible results
sooner rather than later is once again a strategy of choice. In
8 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009
discussing the options for implementing a CSME
Community Agricultural Policy (CCAP), Antoine
(2009) advised that ‘a commodity focus is not the
best approach for this purpose. The region can no
longer base its development process on ‘picking
winners’.
There is now a discernable difference in
approach to commodity-led development in
agriculture. The descriptor ‘commodity’ no longer
stands on its own: it is explicitly and firmly linked
to the words ‘value chain’. CARICOM is seeking
to develop and/or strengthen arrangements for
focused commodities, which to a large extent,
remain those defined under the 1996 RTP. The EU-
CARICOM Agribusiness Development Programme
is premised on the conclusion that agribusiness can
be made much more efficient and comprehensive
if it is placed within a strategic framework following
a multi-sectoral systemic approach, taking into
account the broader social, technological, and
other factors that are re-shaping the agro-food
systems worldwide. Among the activities to be
undertaken by the programme is Commodity
value chain assessments. The Caribbean Agri-
Business Association (CABA) is also promoting
vertical integration within established clusters
and the development of new clusters in traditional
and non-traditional components of agriculture to minimise waste,
maximise market opportunities and contribute to the ‘branding’ of
distinctive Caribbean products, to drive development of competitive
and integrated value chains, from farm to table.
There are also several externally-funded regional projects to
strengthen the development of agriculture using the ‘value chain
approach’, such as the All-ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme
aimed at, inter alia, building capacity of stakeholders along the
commodity value chain to conceive and implement sustainable
commodity strategies. For CARICOM countries, a value-chain led
development of agriculture will be crucial to achieving the objectives
embedded in the theme of the 2009 Hemispheric Agriculture
Ministerial - Building Capacity for Enhanced Food Security and
Rural Life. Relatively successful examples of chains in non-
traditional agriculture are the Caribbean Poultry Association (CPA)
and the Pork Association of the Caribbean (PAC), which provide
ample evidence that ‘scale’ problems can be overcome.
As an instrumental partner to the process, IICA’s Value Chain
Development Agribusiness Caribbean Programme is expected to
add value to regional efforts to forge chains in agriculture, one link
at a time. IICA’s programme focuses at the regional level, supporting
CABA, strengthening the private sector agribusiness association
in order for the association to effectively participate in the Jagdeo
Initiative, and to execute its mandate as lead organisation on the
issue of marketing and fragmented private sector. At another level,
the IICA programme is working work with the value chain instrument
to support value chain activities throughout the hemisphere. The
activities primarily promote the establishment of dialogue platforms
between small and medium sized producers and buyers within the
domestic markets. The intent is to have these platforms established
in most countries as a basis for strengthening ‘linkages’. Such
promotional activities have started in Trinidad and Tobago and the
Bahamas. In terms of the human resource capacity building, the
programme is providing hands-on training within institutions that
support agribusiness development, such as NAMDEVCO and the
Bahamas Agricultural Development Cooperation.

The Fifth Agriculture and Rural Life of
the Americas Ministerial in Jamaica
is a much-anticipated event. It takes
place from 26-29 October 2009, as
part of the Week of Agriculture and
Rural Life in the Americas.
Outside of issues related to the
management of process itself and
its fit within the wider inter-American
Development Agenda under the Summit
of the Americas, the agenda of the
Ministerial is all about agriculture,
placing issues, such as ‘food security’,
squarely on the table. AV provides
information on the Provisional Schedule
to stimulate interest in the process itself
and more importantly, in encouraging
active participation in the dialogue. Just
as the Summit process does not belong
to the Heads of State and Governments,
the Agriculture Ministerial does not
belong only to Ministers of Agriculture
and their public servants. It belongs to
the people of the Americas, especially
the mass of micro and small farmers,
entrepreneurs and processors and the
families and communities that continue
to depend on them for job, income and
food security and environmental health,
among others.
AV jumpstarts your thought process by
suggesting key issues you should seek
to understand, obtain clarification or
influence decision making. We would
be quite happy to furnish some possible
answers and/or provide information as a
guide in coming up with your own. This
is not in any way meant to question the
validity or efficacy of the process, but
a reflection of the curiosities, queries,
concerns and comments noted over
the last 18 months and especially, in
the aftermath of the Fifth Summit of the
Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago.
Perhaps the fact that for the first time,
these top-level hemispheric meeting are
being hosted by Caribbean countries,
partially explains the heightened
curiosity. AV urges all stakeholders
to go beyond the curiosity and ‘study’
the agenda items and contribute, in
any way possible to the identification
of challenges, sharing of positive
experiences and best practices and
definition of feasible strategies and
projects for implementation in countries.
Ministerial Matters…Agenda Jamaica 2009
October 26-29, 2009
Agenda Issues: What Should Be Your ‘ NB’s’
Report on the - How, why and when did that process start?
Ministerial - What does/how can it make a difference to my business,
Process operations, livelihood?
- Who makes the decisions in this process and what is my
scope/opportunity to influence?
Draft Hemispheric - What is this/how is it drafted/who signs it?
Ministerial - Is it legally binding/what are the mechanisms for compliance
Agreement and non-compliance?
- How is/will it be implemented/what has been the progress to
date?
- Where can I get a copy?
State and Outlook - Who prepares this report? Where can I get a copy?
for Agriculture, - Is the Caribbean (CARICOM) sufficiently visible within the
Food Security Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) bloc?
and Rural life in - What is the objective of preparing this report?
the Americas - Does it provide clear ‘ways forward’/ Who will use it and how?
Challenges for - Are these new challenges in addition to the several old ones?
Agriculture and - What new strategies will be proposed to address them more
Rural life effectively than the old remaining challenges?
- How equipped are Caribbean countries, given predictions of a
2+year recession, to meet these challenges?
Situation, - How will all the ideas from such diverse perspectives be
Public Policies, forged into a feasible set of strategies?
Private Sector - Who approves the strategies and who will implement them?
Contribution and - What is the role of national, regional, hemispheric and
Working Together international organisations in implementation?
for Food Security - What is the role of CARICOM’s trade and economic
and Sustainable agreements in enabling the region’s response?
Development - What mechanisms exist to avoid repeating past mistakes?
A new model of - What were the old models and where did they go wrong?
development- a - How did this new model emerge /what are the ‘new’
proposal for considerations/conditioning factors?
building capacity - Is this model only limited to food security/can it be applied to
for food security sustainable agriculture development?
in the Americas. - Are countries and regions ready for this new model?
- What is the process of moving from model to action?
- Where can I get a copy?
Just as the process did not end after the Summit concluded, the process for agriculture
will not end after the Ministerial concludes on 29 October. How it continues and
what impact it makes beyond the months-long preparations and the two or three
days of meetings is also up to all of us! Be informed, get empowered, stay involved
and demand accountability. In Jamaica, the process will continue for agriculture in
October.
This year, the process for agriculture in the Americas will also coincide with a change
in administration of IICA, the Secretariat for the Ministerial Meetings. The Inter-
American Board of Agriculture (IABA) will receive an accountability report for the
2002-2008 period and a proposed 2010-2011 programme budget from the outgoing
Director General, Dr. Chelston W.D. Brathwaite. Ministers will also elect a new
Director General of IICA for the next four year period, commencing in January 2010.
Other activities of the Week of Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas include
a 3-day Exhibition under the theme ‘Agriculture-Advancing Rural Life to 2015 and
Beyond’ and the 2006-2008 Inter-American Awards in the Rural Sector.
AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 9
 Agriculture being positioned to tackle
the ‘silent tsunami’ in the Americas

‘Food security’ will remain a priority on the development agenda of the Americas to year end. As a continuation of the Summit
of the Americas process, Ministers of Agriculture from 34 countries of the Americas meet in Jamaica, in October, to discuss
ways to build capacity for enhancing food security. In 2007, food prices around the world rose suddenly and sharply and the
reach and extent of the impact caused the World Food Program (WFP) to describe it as the “silent tsunami”.

The causes of crisis in food supply and prices have been
well documented and include increased demand from emerging
economies, such as, China and India, weather-induced failures
in major crops, such as, wheat and rice, rising fertiliser prices
and the shifting of crop use from food to fuel. Global wheat prices
increased a staggering 181% between 2005 and early 2008,
contributing to an overall increase of 83% in global food prices.
In its June 2009 issue feature of National Geographic,
an article on ‘The Global Food Crisis - The ‘End of Plenty’ by Joel
K. Bourne Jr., pointed to a more serious problem: for most of the
past decade, the world has been consuming more food than it has
been producing. After years of drawing down stockpiles, in 2007
the world saw global carryover stocks fall to 61 days of global
consumption, the second lowest on record! The situation was so
critical that at the end of 2008, the World Bank announced its “New
Deal for Global Food Policy”, that aimed to combine immediate
financial assistance to hard-hit countries with long-term lending to
boost agricultural productivity. Why target agricultural productivity?
Because according to Joachim von Braun Director General of the
International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.,
“agricultural productivity growth is only one to two percent a year…
too low to meet population growth and increased demand.”

“Modern society has relieved us of the burden of growing, harvesting, even preparing our daily bread, in
exchange for the burden of simply paying for it. Only when prices rise do we take notice. And the
consequences of our inattention are profound” (Joel K. Bourne Jr. 2009, June 2009 National Geographic)

Indeed, Caribbean countries are now grappling with the serious
consequences of decades of inattention paid to agriculture as the
main source of food security. Agriculture, at least in Caribbean
countries, is still trying to avert a crisis of decades of misaligned
policies and dis-investment that have undermined the capacity for
food production. In the 1970s, countries throughout Latin America
and the Caribbean were encouraged by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to develop their export sectors
and downplay economic policies prioritising self-sufficiency, both
in terms of food production and manufactured goods, such as,
import substitution. The result was priority development of ‘cash
crops’ for exports, such as banana, sugar, coffee, etc, to developed
countries.
For decades, export earnings from these commodities
financed the imports of agricultural and food products, until the
1986 Uruguay Round of multinational trade negotiations led to a
liberalization of agricultural domestic regimes and world markets,
resulting in sharp declines in export prices. As a response
strategy, the region has emphasised agricultural diversification
and industry development based on a handful of commodities
with perceived good export potential. While there were some
efforts to develop food production capacity, the agricultural
. . . . identifying the principle challenges inherent to sustainable development of agriculture and rural life
development thrust has essentially been one driven by export
expansion and competitiveness in extra-regional markets leaving
several Caribbean countries vulnerable to rising food prices and
disruptions in food supplies either from trade and/or hurricanes
and other similar extreme weather event. With the food crisis
still fresh in the minds of Caribbean citizens, headlines in some
national newspapers are already reporting that ‘food prices are
falling’, suggesting that the crisis is, or may soon be over. This is
not likely to be the case as global projections suggest that prices
may not revert to their previous lows any time soon.
Bourne Jr. (2009) warned that ‘even though prices
have fallen with the imploding world economy, they are still near
record highs, and the underlying problems of low stockpiles, rising
population, and flattening yield growth remain. Climate change—
with its hotter growing seasons and increasing water scarcity—is
projected to reduce future harvests in much of the world, raising
the spectre of what some scientists are now calling a perpetual
food crisis.’ This adds to a long list of serious challenges already
faced by small Caribbean countries trying to reverse the effects of
decades-long neglect of agriculture to maintain a reasonable level
of food security.

The theme of the Fifth Ministerial is ‘Building Capacity
for Enhanced Food Security and Rural Life in the Americas.
Issues related to capacity building, as a key and indispensable
development strategy, are expected to feature prominently in the
discussions. Of necessity, the issue of building capacity must
be viewed from a long-term perspective that must provide clear
directions with respect to raising agricultural productivity, among
other things. Agriculture Ministers of the Americas are not the only
leaders that will be talking ‘food security’.
The United Nations (UN) is calling for a ‘2009 Summit on
World Food Crisis’ in November, which has apparently received
support from CARICOM Heads of State, as well as President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Michelle Bachelet of
Chile at the end of the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the
Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. According to the
UN News Centre, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Director-General, Jacque Diouf, stressed that the Summit, to
be held in Rome at the 36th Session of the Conference of the
Organization, would reach tangible results by securing broad
consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger and setting
a new world food order. The FAO’s DG expects the Summit to
‘lead to greater coherence in the global governance of world
food security. It will define how we can improve policies and
the structural aspects of the international agricultural system by
putting forward lasting political, financial and technical solutions to
the problem of food insecurity in the world’.
The Agriculture Ministerial could jump-start discussions
in the proposed FAO Food Crisis Summit that could also feed into
the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit scheduled for
November in Trinidad and Tobago.

10 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009

 Also to be discussed in the Ministerial are the challenges
experienced by countries in implementing national strategies for the
improvement of agriculture and rural life, taking into consideration
the need to promote with agricultural stakeholders a broad based
approach to thinking and acting in agriculture and the rural milieu
and a “working together” approach to improve agriculture and rural
life in the Americas.
In preparation for the Ministerial, IICA, which holds the
position of ‘Secretariat of Ministerial Meetings’ for Agriculture and
Rural Life, is coordinating a process of review of member states
progress towards the goals of Agro Plan 2003-2015. Agro Plan
is the shared long-term agenda for promoting the sustainable
development of agriculture and rural communities. Progress
towards Agro Plan is defined according to seven Strategic
Objectives that includes Food and Nutrition Security.
In the 2007 Ministerial, Ministers and their senior officials
agreed that as part of the process, “national governments will
deliver reports on progress in implementing each biennial agenda
and identify challenges faced. These reports will serve as input
for updating the Agenda for the following period’. These reports
will also be a critical input into the drafting of the ‘Hemispheric
Ministerial Agreement-Jamaica 2009’. In the instructions on
preparing the National reports, the IICA Secretariat noted that
“capacity building for
sustainable development
agriculture and the rural milieu
has been a constant priority of
the Ministers and Secretaries of
Agriculture in all the Ministerial
Meetings “Agriculture and Rural
life in the Americas”. This has
been reflected in the AGRO 2003-
2015 Plan through the strategic
actions defined in the meetings
that took place in Panamá 2003,
Guayaquil 2005 and Guatemala
2007. These actions are broad
in scope covering individuals,
companies, rural community
organizations as well as public
agricultural institutions”.
The reports are structured according to the Agro-matrix framework
that defines twelve (12) Purposes and their Strategic Actions for
achieving the common goal. These 12 Purposes are:
Promote competitive rural enterprises;
I. Promote productivity, forge linkages and integrate chains
II. from farm to market;
Promote an enabling policy, regulatory and institutional
III. environment for competitive business;
Promote good environmental practices in rural areas;
1V. Promote integrated environmental management in the
V. chain;
Build an environmentally-friendly regulatory and institutional
VI. framework;
Facilitate improved quality of life and access to basic services
VII. in rural areas;
Develop capacities, expertise, innovation and
VIII. entrepreneurship in the chain;
Promote social development policies to improve lives,
IX. livelihoods and equal opportunity;
Strengthen cooperation among public and private sector and
X. civil society in rural areas;
Strengthen dialogue, partnerships and commitments in the
the XI. chain;
of Promote enabling national policies and strengthen regional
XII. integration and international cooperation.
It is the expectation that based on its theme actions to be agreed
on will complement and/or accelerate ongoing and planned efforts
to position agriculture on a much firmer and sustainable footing to
deal with the issue of food security in the region and hemisphere.
Member states are already implementing a suite of actions to
ward-off the ‘silent tsunami’ in this region, including encouraging
citizens to ‘grow what you eat’ using grow-boxes, patio-farming
and similar methods to maximise food production in small spaces
and in urban areas. Any action, regardless of how small, will count
in the fight against hunger and nutritional-related health problems.
Agriculture and food production, whether on a subsistence or
commercial scale, will continue to have a key and central role in
this cause.

 

3 Development Partners 
12 Development Purposes 
4 Development Priorities  1. Stimulate 2. Forge links, 3. Develop
enterprise and integrate chains; national policies
Economic: competitive and improve for competitive
business … productivity …. business ….
Competitiveness
4. Promote good 5. Promote 6. Create pro-
Ecological: environmental integrated environment
practices … environmental policies and
Sustainability management… institutions …

Socio-Cultural 7. Enhance 8. Encourage 9. Integrate

Human: access to learning, equity & social
resources and innovation and protection into
Equity
basic services… entrepreneurship growth policy..
…
Political
Institutional: 10. Strengthen 11. Strengthen 12.Strengthen
Governance public & private dialogue, national policy &
Christine Wilson of sector, civil commitment and regional and
society partnerships international
“Studio Kreativity INC.” partnerships…. among actors…. cooperation …
Making custom paper products from
banana waste. Saint Lucia. Directly
related to objectives of
Cells 1, 2, 4 and 8.

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 11

 Caribbean Ministers of Agriculture - Who’s Who

Jamaica DOMINICA ST. KITTS

Dr. The Honourable The Honourable The Honourable
Christopher Tufton, M.P. Matthew Walter Cedric Roy Liburd
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Minister of Agriculture, Fish- Minister of Housing, Agriculture
Host Minister of the Fifth eries and Forestry and Fisheries
Ministerial

Antigua and Barbuda DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SAINT LUCIA

The Honourable Excelentísimo Señor Ing. The Honourable
Hilson Baptiste Salvador Jiménez Ezechiel Joseph
Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Hous- Secretario de Estado de Minister for Agriculture, Lands,
ing and Environment Agricultura Forestry and Fisheries

The Bahamas GRENADA ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENA-

The Honourable The Honourable DINES
Lawrence S. Cartwright, M.P. Michael Denis Lett The Honourable
Minister of Agriculture and Marine Minister of Agriculture, For- Montgomery Daniel
Resources estry and Fisheries Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries

barbados GUYANA barbados

Senator The Honourable The Honourable The Honourable
Haynesley L.Benn Robert Persaud Kermechend Raghoebarsing
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Minister of Agriculture Minister of Agriculture, Animal
Development Husbandry and Fisheries

belize HAITI trinidad and tobago

The Honourable Son Excellence Monsieur Senator The Honourable
Rene Montero Joanas Gué Arnold A. Piggott
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries- Ministre de l´Agriculture, des Minister of Agriculture, Land and
Resources Ressources Naturelles et du Marine Resources
Développement Rural

Snapshot of Actions Taken by Caribbean Countries to Enhance Food Security

Rising Food Prices: Trends, Causes, Implications and Policy Approaches to the Global Food Crisis in the Caribbean, September, 2008. Research
Paper by Alisa Mitchell.

National policy responses to the food crisis were diverse. However, the main focus has been on increasing access to food and in
strengthening the relevant actions needed to ensure that adequate food is available by ensuring production and that it is affordable
to be accessed by consumers. These were intended to be temporary short-medium term measures to alleviate pressures of rising
food and fuel prices.
• price controls: most common response, targeted mainly at consumers to increase affordability and thus access to the commodity
foods;
• subsidies to inputs and distribution of inputs: targeted mainly at producers to strengthen production, make more food crops more
available and build resilience and sustainability in food supply;
• income transfers and food distribution programmes: to increase purchasing power and access to food especially of the more
vulnerable;

While short-term measures are important, building capacity for food security is a long-term issue and policy responses must include
appropriate financing for production, public information and promotion, science and technology, technical advisory information and
services. While such policy responses have the potential to transform a relatively dormant agriculture into a vibrant industry, less than
half of the countries for which data were available, incorporated these elements into their responses.

12 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009

 Growing agri-business - one enterprise at a time!
In 1988, CARICOM declared the “Year of Business” to promote increased productivity, employment and income, development
of small business and encouragement of entrepreneurial activity. Donor funding supported the establishment of public-sec-
tor projects aimed at facilitating and promoting public sector/private sector partnership for business development. Donor
financing also fuelled expansion in the number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing micro-credit loans to
entrepreneurs, to fund various technical assistance projects and to boost the capacity of the NGOs themselves. Ten years
later, in 2008, the need to build a critical mass of entrepreneurs generally and specifically in agriculture remained urgent. In
2009, Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) still find it difficult to access innovative and appropriate financial
services and they remain largely “unbanked”. The following highlights innovative responses to the financing problem.

‘When women and youth are empowered, decently employed Economic growth can only be sustained through a
and encouraged to take full economic participation and their sequence of successful enterprises,
abilities to start and grow businesses are strengthened, all ‘One High Performance Enterprise
stakeholders will see tremendous benefits.’ after Another’.
Marcia Brandon, Executive Director of the Barbados Youth Basil Springer, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust (CBET)
Business Trust (BYBT).

What happens when you combined youth, women and enterprise?
Birth and growth of small business, such as that spawned and
nurtured in 2001 by Nelva Magloire. Nelva saw an opportunity to
start a new business within her community – plantain chips to sell
to students of the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) in
Portsmouth, Dominica. She took the opportunity and set to work
in her mother’s kitchen. Soon demand for her chips outstripped
supply; customers were impressed by its quality. This motivated
Nelva to look beyond RUSM expanding her market into tourism
sites in her immediate community.
The business was growing and Nelva needed a new
location, new and improved equipment, and most of all, she
needed training. As a member of the National Association of
Youth in Agriculture (NAYA), she was awarded assistance under
an IICA/FAO funded project ‘Strengthening and Expanding Rural
Income Streams’. This project enabled her to purchase new
stainless steel tables, a slicer, a 50lb gas deep dryer, a heat sealer
and a refrigerator, and other operating materials, such as, hair
nets, knives, aprons and mitts. The project also assisted Nelva to
undertake nutritional analysis of her product and enhance product
labelling and packaging. Critically, the ‘capacity gaps’, i.e., areas
outside the scope of the project, were filled by IICA, NAYA and
the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. With access to
family land, an independent facility, designed for efficient plantain
chip production, was constructed for “Nelly’s Chips”. It includes
a water bath for washing raw materials and new state-of-the-art
processing equipment. She now employs an agro-processor who
is knowledgeable in processing technology and food safety issues.
Nelly’s Chips is now one of six model projects supported by IICA in
collaboration with FAO in the Eastern Caribbean States. While Nelva
is considered the primary
beneficiary, the Project
is expected to impact
her family, community,
country and region
as it will be used as a
model for training and
encouraging like-minded
individuals or groups to
follow in her footsteps.
Source: Adapted
from the IICA ECS
Newsletter
Basil Springer, for the past seven years, has been developing
the Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust (CBET) Shepherding
Model™ in response to what he describes as ‘entrepreneurs faced
with the mantra from traditional financial institutions “we do not
fund start-ups”’. The Barbados model is based on the operation
of four elements that together, provide a national focus to develop
a family of successful high performance agricultural enterprises
one enterprise after another using. These are the (1) National
Agricultural Trading Trust, (2) The CBET Shepherding Model™,
(3) Barbados Quick Response Seed Capital Revolving and Growth
Fund and (4) Barbados Quick Response Venture Capital Fund.
Regarding the latter two, this twin fund concept, in combination,
provides a robust alternative to the traditional model.
The CBET Shepherding Model™ promoted as necessary
and sufficient for sustainable business success. The CBET
model (researched in 12 Caricom Countries) was a Caribbean
Development Bank Initiative passed on to the Private Sector
(2001).The shepherding element should be of particular interest to
agencies desirous of innovative and flexible models of supporting
start-up and small businesses. A feature of the shepherding model
is that funds will not be made available to the entrepreneur unless he
agrees to have a Shepherd assigned to him/her. The shepherding
process is designed to reduce the risk of failure and, in that sense,
the concept “shepherding as collateral” has emerged. Shepherds
are selected based on significant experience and ‘learning’ in some
field related to business and not necessarily on Ph.D qualifications.
This new initiative is presented as a partnership between CBET,
the Government of a sovereign country and local and foreign direct
investors. CBET Inc. Barbados Government-Private Sector Seed
and Venture Capital Partnership were rolled out in Barbados in
November 15 2008. Other clients are expected to be rolled-out
during the course of 2009.
Contact Basil Springer at basilgf@caribnet.net or www.cbetmodel.
org.
There are many similar stories throughout the Caribbean.
Unfortunately, many of these aspiring opportunity-driven
entrepreneurs still struggle to find ready finance and
business support that matches their specific needs at the
time when they need is greatest. With models, such as,
CBET, this problem could be easily solved. Agriculture is
ripe with opportunities to start and grow business, literally.
What better time than to subscribe to a new mantra, that of
‘breeding and growing agripreneurs’ “one high performance
enterprise at a time.”

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 13

 TTABA .. creating links and adding value to local produce
On May 3rd 2007, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago officially
launched the National Agri-business Development Programme, (NADP).
NADP’s goals are to: (1) move agriculture beyond the narrow focus on
primary production to a broader context of agri-business and from a
minor to a major sector in national economic and social development;
(2) move agriculture from largely numbers of small disorganized low
technology farmers and agro-processors to a highly organized small
medium enterprise (SME) sector backed by high level technology and
technical support including a contract production and marketing service;
and to (3) introduce large farms, establish a national agro-processing
centre and focus on selected commodities for development of a range
of innovative, value-added products targeted at the local, regional and
international markets.
The NADP is being jointly implemented by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources and the Trinidad and Tobago
Agribusiness Association (TTABA). Its main components are a: (1)
National Contract Production and Marketing Service, considered to be the
nerve centre, (2) National Agro-processing Service, the basis on which the
expansion of the sector is premised and (3) Research and Development
Service, intended to actively facilitate the removal of constraints to the
production, processing and marketing of the commodities.
TTABA is a private Not for Profit Company established by agri-
business sector stakeholders. It is led by a Board of Directors drawn
from representatives across the entire agri-business sector, including
the Farmers Associations, the Supermarket Association, The Hotel and
Restaurant Association, the Agro-processors Association, the Food
Exporters Association, the Housewives/Consumers Association,
the input suppliers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land &
Marine Resources, National Agricultural Marketing
and Development Company, the Agricultural
Development Bank (ADB) and the Tobago House
of Assembly (THA). Operationally, TTABA is
pursuing sustainability by investing any profits
or surplus generated back into the company
and the sector. TTABA seeks to provide
products and services that will facilitate
the organized and co-ordinated planning,
development and expansion of the local
agri-business sector. Over the past two
years, TTABA, through the implementation
of the NADP, has mobilised agribusiness
stakeholders at various stages of the
value chain, facilitating food import
substitution through the promotion and
increased competitiveness of healthier, local
alternatives and supporting dynamic research
and development.
14 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009
TTABA operates as a market intermediary and
establishes purchasing agreements/contracts with buyer
groups and supplier agreements/contracts with farmers’
associations at agreed guaranteed prices. TTABA is
directly involved in agro-processing in the Agro-processing
Services Centre, transforming primary products into stable,
first stage value-added agro-processed raw material for
supplying downstream buyers, including food processors,
restaurants and institutions, such as, the school feeding
programme. TTABA also offers contract food processing
services for a range of second and third stage value-
added consumer packaged products to the private sector
particularly to existing consumer food distributors such
as supermarkets, importers and exporters. Products
developed to date include paw paw ketchup, cassava fries,
sweet potato fries, coconut water and soup pack, various
value added products from root crops.
TTABA, in collaboration with NAMDEVCO and
the Ministry of Agriculture, provides technical support to
farmers, in preparing their lands, establishing irrigation
ponds, advising on agronomic practices and addressing
constraints, such as, inadequate labour and praedial larceny
and promoting increased use of greenhouses and other
appropriate technology. TTABA works primarily with farmer
groups to procure raw materials and to achieve greater
organisation among producers and is involved with farmer
associations in various communities including
Barrackpore, Brasso Caparo, Cunupia,
Caura, Hindustan, Lere Village,
Moruga, Plum Mitan, Rio Claro,
Tabaquite, Tableland, Vega De
Oropouche and Wallafield.
While recognising that
farmers may be experts at
the production process,
organisation within
the sector has been
a major limitation.
Consequently, the
focus on ‘Association
development’ is of
tremendous importance,
with special focus on
issues of group dynamics
and good governance.
Working with farmers’ groups
is critical since this is the first
point of contact with providers of
primary produce. Meetings, held
primarily at night to fit into farmers’
schedules, seek to provide information
on the market and contract opportunities and
training in grades and standards, record keeping, general
agronomy and technology advancements. Commodity
groups developed to date include coconut, sweet potato,
pumpkin, rabbit, paw paw, hot pepper while industry
groups developed and strengthened to date include those
for greenhouse stakeholders and exporters.
TTABA branded products:
Coconut water; Sweet potato crinkle fries.
The TTABA agri-business development model has been heralded
as seminal to the growth of the sector in Trinidad and Tobago.
This model, which builds on the original concept of the Caribbean
AgriBusiness Association (CABA), is being promoted to enhance
the competitiveness of the agri-food industries of CARICOM states.
Allister Glean of TTABA provides answers to some of the more
common questions asked about the model.

Q: But how different is the TTABA model from was attempted in agricultural
development in the past?
A: No other organization has the degree of public-private sector
collaboration that we have right now. TTABA is essentially a one stop
shop (Contract-Produce-Process-Market). We contract farmers to grow
the crops that we want as well as provide them with support in terms
of establishing associations; we engage in research and development,
in terms of new products and better crop yields, we add value to the Processing papaya
produce by developing a wide range of products which we market locally,
has increased the demand for its range of products.
regionally and internationally. TTABA’s private Not-For-Profit organization
The producers, processors, policy makers, distributors,
legal status also differentiates us, as it allows us to source public funds
consumers were ready.
for investment and for managing private sector projects.

Q: What ‘inspired’ or informed such a model; what is its theoretical base;

Q: what was the response from private sector, including
in other words, who came up with this ‘bright idea’?
farmers?
A: The brainchild? That’s an easy one. The model is built on the
A: The private sector has been very supportive of the
original concept that organisations, such as, the Caribbean Agribusiness
TTABA initiative, which enables the development of
Association (CABA) attempted to glean from the Junto Agroempreserial
organised networks throughout the value chain. With
Dominicana (JAD) in the Dominican Republice, which mobilises the
farmers in particular, our strategy has been to seek out
major industry players to address critical industry issues.
and build relationships with the most influential farmer
However, if an individual has to be identified for the birthing of the model,
or community leader. Once they are convinced of the
it has to be Vassel Stewart, the current Chief Executive Officer of TTABA.
benefits of partnering with us, then they rally with us to
He has painstakingly toiled to make the programme a success. He also
mobilise their entire communities.
recognised that the model could only be successful if it was market
Farmers have expressed considerable support of the
driven. As such, he not only ensure that there was a market oriented
entire TTABA programme for a myriad of reasons. The
focus but also ensured that the implementers of the programme included
programme provides them with an available and ready
a processing component that would be able to ensure the value added
market, they attain invaluable training in agronomic
production of the produce as well as be able to control the vagaries
practices, good governance and grades and standards.
associated with fresh produce production and marketing. But the entire
In addition, in many cases, farmers have been able to rise
industry can be credited for this success story! The model was developed
above their subsistence level and improve their general
through a collaborative effort among during the Agricultural Sector
livelihoods
Reform Programme where need for the NADP was well recognised. We
lobbied government for its approval. The existence of this programme is
Q: Final words?
truly attributable to the entire agribusiness community, in particular the
A: The work of the media should not be underestimated.
farmers.
There has been substantial promotion of TTABA’s
successes, through newspaper articles and television
Q: Obviously the government ‘bought-into’ the model, why do you think?
interviews, which has also proven to be an effective
A: The practicality of the model facilitated government ‘buy-into’ the. It
strategy in creating a positive corporate image.
frees up the government from having to deal with numerous individual
farmers or consumers. Now TTABA acts as the linking agency between
various actors (input suppliers, farmers, manufacturers, traders,
consumers, financiers and researchers) and plays a key role in linking
these groups with government as well. All this collaboration will allow for
greater efficiency and benefits include improved stability of food prices
through contract production and bringing vacant agricultural lands in
Trinidad and Tobago back into production. Therefore, TTABA was able to
present a model that incorporated most ideas by specialists in the region
in a manner that allows the country to address problems in a sustainable
way. This is why the government of Trinidad and Tobago was able to buy
into the model.

Q: How ready was the country for this model?

A: TTABA’s intervention has taken place at an opportune moment of
global emphasis on food security and promotion of healthy lifestyles. Our
marketing strategy, which promotes the consumption of locally produced
value-added products and healthier alternatives to imported foods, Mobilizing farmers

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2, 2009 15

The Value of Shared Experiences Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago Agriculture Mission to Costa Rica From starting life as a banana republic reli-
ant on banana and coffee exports, Costa
Rica now has a successfully diversified
We often hear that ‘we need to learn from the experiences of others’ regardless of where agricultural export sector. Agriculture has
these ‘others’ are. Costa Rica is a country that we, in the Caribbean hear much about had to diversify due to regional competi-
in terms of advances in agriculture and the development of rural business. Perhaps our tion and a changing global economy. But
familiarity with Costa Rica is also because it is the headquarters of the Inter-American Costa Rica’s agricultural industry has
stayed strong by changing with the market.
Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which has been promoting the ‘working
Costa Rica has complimented its original
together’ approach and facilitating visits of Caribbean stakeholders to centres of ‘banana republic’ exports with pineapples,
excellence. Costa Rica is one such centre. watermelons, papaya and tropical flowers,
I (Allister Glean/TTABA) was fortunate to be part of a Trinidad and Tobago as well as diversifying agricultural meth-
delegation to Costa Rica on the invitation of the IICA Director-General’s Office and ods to capitalise on new fair-trade exports,
the Centre for Leadership to the Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Marine Resources and luxury organic produce. This ability to
(MALMR) and Senator, the Honourable Mr. Arnold Piggott. As part of that delegation, adapt to changes in the global economy
I had the opportunity, to view first hand, view first-hand, some large-farm/agricultural makes the outlook for Costa Rica’s econ-
omy bright
practices, cooperative activities and minimal processing operations in several rural
communities. Costa Rica: Economic Strength by Adapta-
It was indeed an invaluable experience and in the process of trying to determine tion PRLog (Press Release) Apr 07, 2008.
lessons to learn, I made some striking observations. Firstly, small farmers in Costa Rica http://www.prlog.org/10062543-costa-rica-
do not have ‘plots’, they have acres. A small Costa Rican farmer typically operates economic-strength-by-adaptation.html
on 10-30 acres, which s/he owns, compared to the Caribbean counterpart, who can
sometimes barely scrape 5 acres, which is, in most cases, leased or operated under
some share arrangement with the land owner. Ownership means access to financing. Secondly,
lack of farm labour does not seem to be as major an issue as it is in the Caribbean. Labour
just ‘walks-across-the-border’ from a large, affordable and reliable pool in neighbouring
Nicaragua. Whether or not there is ‘free movement of labour’ within the Central American
Common Market (CACM), there are both government and private sector initiatives to
develop agriculture projects in the northern areas, close to border, to reduce the tendency
for such labour to migrate to the cities. With the exception of Guyana, Suriname and Belize,
Caribbean countries are islands, separated by sea with limited facilities for sea transport and
relatively high costs of air travel. And even with the ‘free movement of goods and services’
under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) attracting and accessing farm labour
from neighbouring is an exercise fraught with difficulties. Thirdly, and strangely enough, praedial
larceny also does not appear to be a major scourge in Costa Rica. Outside of ‘acts of God’ such
as hurricanes, praedial larceny is perhaps the worst and ‘unnatural’ hazard faced by Caribbean
farmers. There are more salient observations that suggest to me, that Costa Rica definitely has
the advantage.
While agriculture in the region may be a bit behind in some areas, it should not
undervalue its accomplishments in the areas of technical expertise, soil science and
agronomy, marketing development and rapid mobilisation of stakeholders. We also
often underestimate the capability of our private sector to engage in efficient farming
and processing of food products. In Trinidad and Tobago, building and strengthening the
so called elusive value ‘chain’ is well on its way, being spearheaded through the Trinidad
and Tobago (T&T) AgriBusiness Association (TTABA) agribusiness development model.
The TTABA model is ensuring that all key stakeholders in the chain - from farmers’ groups,
processors, Agricultural Development Bank, National Agricultural Marketing and Development
Company (NAMDEVCO), University of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies, input
suppliers, supermarket associations, hotel and restaurant associations - are on board behind one
common goal, that of building national capacity for food security. Collaboration through Partners/
Partnerships is one of the critical success factors in Costa Rica; it is also emerging as a critical
success factor in agribusiness development in T&T, with TTABA partnering with NAMDEVCO
and the Government to provide food that is affordable, healthy and innovative, such as, soup
packs, cassava and sweet-potato based products, such as, fries, crockets, cubes, wedges
and meal to make bread.
The other critical “P” factors of Costa Rica’s success are Political Will, Production
Capacity (experienced and knowledgeable producers) and Sustainable Programmes. The
TTABA model is well on its way to fully reflect these “P” factors and with partnerships from
public and private sectors in the rest of the Caribbean, is positioned to make a noticeable mark
in the national and regional thrust to build a nutritional food secure region.

14
 Investing in Nutrition - Building Capacity for CARICOM’s Food Needs
‘a biodiversity hot spot’, with 365 days of tropical weather, that provides a perfect landscape for agri-tecture, i.e., layout of
a diverse range of agricultural, forestry and fisheries production. However, such diversity has been overshadowed by the
sheer level of chain organisation, scale and investments in crops for the raw material export market (banana, rice and sugar)
at the expense of securing food needs.
The following is extracted from ‘Investing in Food and Nutrition Security - Identifying Potential Investment Opportunities in the Agriculture
and Food Industries in CARICOM’ IICA-CTA, 2009.
In September 2007, CARICOM Heads of Governments signed
Identifying Potential Investment Opportunities in the
the Port of Spain Declaration Uniting to Stop the Epidemic
of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs). Among
Agriculture and Food Industries in CARICOM
the policy responses advocated was the need for agricultural
policies that ensure that food security is pursued in the context
of incentives or subsidies for local production of the fruits,
vegetables and whole grains required for a healthy diet. In
building capacity for enhanced food security, CARICOM, as
a region, and as individual member states, will need to invest
in the development of its ‘food system’ to, in the first instance,
assure availability.
Production data suggest that if based on the Caribbean
Food and Nutrition Institute’s (CFNI) 6 food groups for healthy
eating, CARICOM’s combined resources can reasonably
supply a large share of daily healthy food needs. The key food
groups are staples (45%), legumes/nuts (22%), vegetables
(12%) and fruits (9%). However, trade data indicate that extra-
regional imports account for a significant share of available
supplies.
For CARICOM, ‘availability’ is very closely tied to
trade and any trade disruptions, regardless of how temporary,
are likely to have an immediate impact on the food security.
Capacity and investment decisions that tip the scales in favour
of enhancing domestic production and regional distribution
will go far in enhancing food security. From an ‘availability’
perspective, opportunities exist for viable investments in
primary and processed foods. Such investments must, of
necessity, adopt a value-chain approach to enable growth
and sustained development of the industry beyond the initial
investment.
There has been a growth in the number of small
enterprises engaged in processing of root crops and other
staples for local markets. Products include porridge mixes,
frozen root crops in various speciality cuts (eg. cassava logs,
fries, wedgies, grated). Member states should invest in these
existing enterprises by providing the necessary support to
strengthen agronomic practices and operations, improve
management skills, undertake product development, enhance
product marketability and strengthen market linkages. Success
with such initial investment will lead to greater interest among
would-be entrepreneurs and expand output.
The vegetable and fruit food groups are also priority
areas for diversification and expansion in CARICOM countries,
but geared for export markets. Observations of recent
increases in offerings of vegetable and fruit offerings in fast-
food establishments and consumption of same, reflects global
trends. However, in many instances, these vegetable and fruit
are imported. CARICOM countries have a good opportunity to
invest in the production of a basket of key vegetables to satisfy
the needs of both the export market, through the tourism
and hospitality sector, and local consumers. High among the
choices should be green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, carrots,
among others. Such investment should also encourage value
adding, such as, mixed veggie packs, that is being done on a
small scale in some CARICOM countries. The issue with fruits
is more one of availability; that is of flattening out the highly
seasonal nature, improving quality through better handling and
presentation, and reducing the high level of wastage due to
non-use of second grade fruit.
In terms of the last two food groups, animal products
and fats and oils food, except for the relatively large and
established poultry, pork and other livestock industries,
investing in expansion of livestock products needs to be
carefully thought out. This decision-making process must take
its cue from the CFNI guidelines which place a low importance
on animal products (8%) in a healthy diet, relative to crop-
based products. This is ironic since animal products, has
accounted for the largest increase in global food production
and share of global agriculture and food trade in response to
rising demand. There is growing global promotion of fish and
sea food as the healthiest animal protein. There are ongoing
efforts in CARIOCM to develop the fisheries industry through
the CARICOM Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and
independent investors.
Considering that the CFNI’s nutritional guidelines
recommend that this group of foods is the least needed
and should contribute just about 4% of the daily diet, then
given current production and consumption of oil-rich fruits,
investment to develop capacity for fats and oils, as part of
a food and nutrition strategy not be high on the priority list.
However, consumption studies indicate that CARICOM
populations are generally over-fed on these two groups, with
direct links to CNCDs. Also ironically, is the fact that while
sugar and sweeteners constitute a significant part of traditional
agriculture production and exports and content of the soft drink
industry, one of the largest food processing industries in the
region, it is not listed as a food group although consumption
data indicate that consumption is a large part of the CARICOM
diet.
In the short-term and given the emerging global
situation with respect to food security, the priority objective
for resuscitating agriculture’s potential is to produce adequate
supplies of wholesome foods to feed CARICOM’s populations.
Meeting this objective provides sufficient basis for according
significant attention in any decision making process to
prioritising capacity building and investments to the four critical
food groups. Such investments will be justifiable from the
nutritional, production capacity and experience, economic and
national security linked to disaster management standpoints.
Contrasting the nutritional positioning of these food groups
to past and even current efforts at agricultural development
strategies and supply capacity of the agriculture and food
system in CARICOM would be an interesting exercise.
AgriView Vol. 14, No. 1, 2009 15
 In April, IICA, the CTA and the CARICOM Secretariat hosted a regional meeting to discuss implementing a CSME Community
Agriculture Policy (CCAP) that builds on the goals enshrined in Chapter Four, Part Two of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
and on the Single Development Vision. Policy harmonisation is an integral aspect of the CSME and considered essential for
agricultural development. However, there are divergent and strong views in the region about the impact of a regional policy
for agriculture on spurring agricultural development. Some opinions suggest that given our history of policy failures, a regional
response is neither practical nor even desirable. Others insist that policy harmonisation is a must if the region is to progress
in the CSME. In between these extremes range degrees of uncertainty, nonchalance and indifference. A few of the burning
issues that emerged are summarised.
Issue 1: there are differing views about Prof. Tim Josling: Stanford University
the scope of ‘agriculture’ that will limit On the issue of classification (definition of agriculture), the World Trade
policy effectiveness. Organisation (WTO) is about trade and about classifying goods. The
Agriculture is still viewed as farming and Harmonised System (HS) classification Chapters 1 to 24 (agriculture,
other primary activities, while value-adding, including fisheries) is inclusive, but most national economic agencies
or agri-business, is viewed as food and take a different classification, by type of organisation or activity. I hope
beverage manufacturing, or some other we don’t get hung up on this, where definitional issues define the way
post-farm gate activity, product or service. forward for agriculture or industrial policy.

Issue 2: do import-reliant
agribusinesses contribute to regional
development?
Most regional large food and beverage
processors depend heavily on imported
materials. They earn profits, provide jobs
and are successful. But are such industrial
models really agricultural development
and, if so, at what social costs?
Dr. Patrick Antoine: Strategic Trade & Policy Advisor
A regional framework for agricultural development should deliberately
make no distinction between products manufactured/processed from
local/regional raw materials and those manufactured/processed from
non-regional or imported raw materials. There are Member States
who have competitive advantage in transforming “raw materials”,
wherever sourced, into higher value added processed products,
while for others, their advantage lies in actual production of such raw materials. A
regional approach to agriculture must continue to accommodate both orientations
to create opportunities for regional sourcing and regional production integration.

Issue 3: regional policies and plans Desiree Field-Ridley: CARICOM Secretariat

will not lead to growth
Given a 30-year experience of failed
regional agriculture policies and strategies
and weak governance, it may be more
effective to prepare national policies and
strategic since there is a government
to implement it. There is no ‘regional
government’
The Ex-Prime Minster of Barbados recognized that the region was
taking on a challenge in the absence of political union and a central
government. So the CSME process will proceed as so far as is
possible, without a central government. With a regional policy and/
or plan, one expects implementation at the national level. Hence
agriculture’s regional plan will be implemented at national level. To
get a regional result will require one-plus-one to make more than two. In some
areas, whole is greater than sum of parts, that is, benefits of collective action. But
there is need to demonstrate such benefits for agriculture.

Issue 4: growth has to be achieved at Dr. Basil Springer: CBET

the enterprise level, in countries The strategy is to develop a family of successful agripreneurs, “One
The stakeholder profile of agriculture in High Performance Enterprise after Another”, i.e., those with the
CARICOM is dominated by micro and “DNA of an Elephant” in contrast to the “DNA of an Ant (it can start
small firms and fragmented processors small but has the capacity to grow into an export industry). These
and other agri-businesses which present businesses could be existing, start-up and new ideas, each with
additional challenges for the development the capacity to foster agribusiness growth. The plan is to adopt the
of a community policy for agriculture. One Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust (CBET) Shepherding Model™
Basi l S p ring er Ph . D ( C BET)

of their most fundamental challenges are as necessary and sufficient for sustainable business success. The actions are to
CB ET I n c . B a rb a d o s G o v ern m e n t-
Priv at e Se c to r Se ed a n d V e n tu re

securing financing for working capital, provide Quick Response Seed and Venture Capital, i.e., very early stage finance to
Cap ita l P a rtn e rsh ip wa s rol le d o ut in
Bar b a d o s i n N o ve mb e r 1 5 2 008

product innovation etc. an individual or entity with potential for high performance. All types of financing are
being explored with the explicit exception of loans due to the prohibitive collateral
requirements.

The CARICOM Secretariat, which has the mandate for agricultural policy in CARICOM is currently spearheading the development of a
‘Strategic Plan for Regional Development (SPRD)’, which is a natural follow-on from the Single Development Vision approved by CARICOM
Heads of Government in July 2007. The Single Development Vision has a focus on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and links to tourism, which
reflects the the Revised Treaty. The Strategic Plan will focus on regional public goods. In a regional approach to agriculture determination will
be made as to what are the particular public goods that the region should focus on to foster integration. Some public goods, ie., goods and
services whose benefits are shared in the integration process, are market intelligence and information, R&D, quality assurance and standards
systems, security, financing, transportation, and training and development. ‘Background Papers’ on Caribbean Agro-tourism and Intra-regional
agricultural production and trade policy will inform the plan for agriculture. The CCAP proposal and the outcome of the CCAP meeting will also
provide input into the process.

14 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 1, 2009

 The classification issue is embedded in the system of national accounting which ‘values’ the contribution
of economic sectors to the growth of an economy (gross domestic product (GDP)). In national accounts,
the agriculture classification covers only primary production, ‘food and beverage processing’ is
classified as manufacturing or industry, and agri-tourism, classified as ‘services’. Recognising that this
undervalues agriculture’s contribution, IICA embarked on a process to measure the ‘true contribution
of agriculture’. Results from several case studies, including one undertaken in Trinidad showed that
when all the backward and forward linkages are considered, agriculture’s true contribution to GDP
is substantially higher than traditionally measured.

The ‘measurement’ issue is based on the growth of agricultural GDP (AGDP), as is normally
published. It is an important economic indicator used to measure progress in, or the rate of
expansion of agriculture capacity to produce and supply finished products for consumption and
intermediate use. In many cases, ‘real’ AGDP has been used as if it were an indicator of the level of
wellbeing of agricultural families, even though it only represents the amount of net production (discounting all inputs) valued at the prices
of a certain base year. Therefore, because real AGDP is calculated at ‘constant prices’, changes from one year to the next in same way,
only reflect changes in the ‘volume’ of agricultural production and do not take into account changes in relative prices, which often have
a greater impact on agricultural incomes. It is not uncommon in agriculture, for increases in production levels to lead to decreases in the
income of producers, inasmuch as agricultural prices also fall due to over-supply factors. ‘Good’ agricultural performance, from the point
of view of the domestic supply of products, often leads to ‘unhappy farmers’ who see their incomes decline as a result of lower prices.
To consider only the AGDP paints a very limited picture of what is happening in the sector. (Measuring agricultural GDP performance,
a technical note by Julio Paz, Henry Benavides and Joaquin Arias, Policies and Trade, IICA, COMMINIICA Fifth Year, January-April,
2009 ISSN 1992-4933)

Publications to look out for. . . .

Published with financing from the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation
Implementing a CSME Community In A Nutshell Situation and Outlook
Agricultural Policy: Issues, options, process Issue #15, June 2009 for Agriculture Chains
ISBN 978-92-9248-019-6 ISSN-1991-2323 CaRC/TT-02/09 Coming in October

a 21st Century
Model of situation
and
Agriculture’s
Chains
Development
ourook for

June 2009 2009

This publication discusses the subject of
articulating and implementing a CSME
Community Agricultural Policy (CCAP). It
includes perspectives on the topic, the base
paper prepared as an input to the regional
policy dialogue process and highlights of the
main issues that emerged from a regional
meeting on implementing the CCAP. The
purpose of this contribution is not to rewrite
community policy as articulated in the Article
56 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,
nor to propose a new policy, strategy or
initiative in the context of what already exists,
nor is it intended to elaborate a full blown
CCAP. On the contrary, the CCAP proposal
offers a ‘synthesis’ of the critical issues and
options, process and imperatives for policy
harmonisation in agriculture at this stage
of development in the CSME. It seeks to
form an input into the regional dialogue and
consultations.
There is need to give thought to the
indispensable role of agriculture and rural
communities in the building of economies in
the Americas. Development must proceed
in a manner that ensures human prosperity
and security in all its dimensions and
environmental sustainability. Sustainable
development is a central part of the agenda
for the Fifth Summit of the Americas
and Fifth Agriculture Ministerial, both
meetings hosted by Caribbean countries
in 2009. Protected markets for agricultural
products have virtually disappeared and
the Caribbean is challenged to find new
economic pillars on which to build its
economies and to achieve the goals of
sustainable development. It describes the
context and elements for what Dr. Cheltson
W.D. Brathwaite Director General of IICA
refers to as ‘a new development model’.
Agriculture’s situation is traditionally
measured by macro-level statistical
indicators which report generally poor
performance. This publication uses the
Agro-matrix framework to promote a modern
concept of agriculture, discussed, not as a
sector, or ‘primary agriculture, or traditional
industries, but as a set of ‘chains’ that
create and add value. The chain approach
conceptually and operationally eliminates
the long-standing disconnect between
farms and other aspects of the agriculture
and food industry. The discussion blends
less used ‘soft’ information (experiences of
individuals and institutions) with traditionally
used technical analyses to present a more
‘balanced’ and optimistic view on the
commitments, progress, innovation and
partnerships in developing agriculture in
CARICOM.

AgriView Vol. 14, No. 1, 2009 15

 Not sure where to invest for food security?
Let the Caribbean Food Groups be your guide.
I n v e sti ng by Nu tr ition
CFNI specifies 6 Food Groups that, in relative proportions, are
important to a healthy daily diet. Investing in food needs and
agricultural development MUST make a critical and radical de-
parture and be guided by these guidelines. Building capacity in
agriculture and food production MUST be addressed from the
perspective of satisfying the recommended nutritional guidelines
and not from the usual export market-led approach. This shift
in perspective is important to help make a determination as to
whether, and how far, the region can substantially meet all of its
recommended food needs from its combined production capac-
ity. Integrating this approach in agricultural development policies
and strategies will enable the region to adopt a ‘preventive’ health
care system rather than bear the burdens of costly long-term cu-
rative health care. This has direct and long-term implications for
how the region’s capacity to supply foods should be developed,
not only in terms of assuring health, but also, in terms of reducing
the wealth ‘leakages’ due to the high dependence on imports to
feed a burgeoning tourism industry.
AgriView is published every trimester by the Inter-
American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
It provides a forum for researchers, policy makers and
agri-entrepreneurs, including small farmer, to share ideas
and successful experiences that will contribute to the re-
positioning of the agri-food system in the Caribbean to
one that is economically efficient, socially responsible
and environmentally sound. It also provides information
to enhance knowledge critical to agribusiness.
This issue was printed with funding from the Technical
Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
The responsibility for opinions expressed in this publica-
tion and errors and omissions rest solely with the edi-
tors.
Any and all contributions and comments are most
welcome.
ISSN 1991-2315; CaRC/TT-01/09
20 AgriView Vol. 14, No. 2
Mobilising Financing and Investment: (KBC #1)
At the moment, only in one or two countries of the Region is
agriculture identified as a priority in their National Indicative
Programs that have been submitted to development agencies,
such as, the European Commission. According to regional
experts, this lack of articulation has prevented agencies
involved in agricultural development in the Region from
accessing monies that were pledged in 2008, subsequent to
the food crisis.
Between 2007 and 2008, two major actions were taken:
1> an Agricultural Donor Conference, held in Trinidad and Tobago
(2007).
Financing for Projects valued US$440mn was solicited. The response
was initial financial pledges of US $11.6million, with additional funding
from the Government of Spain valued at US $3.9 million has been
sourced for three projects and from FAO. In September, a CARICOM
mission will visit key donors who had expressed interest – EU, IDB,
CIDA and Japan. This would cover about 46 projects at a value of
about US$393mn.
What are these projects?
2> an Investment Forum, held in Guyana, (2008).
Financing for US $50 million was solicited for 25 projects. To date 6
projects have received the green light (total budget of US$5.8 million)
and 12 projects worth US$32m are still being negotiated.
What are these projects?
Has the money been collected?
With food security high on the agenda,
- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in attempting to in
the region has made available to Latin America and the Caribbean US
$500 million, in support of efforts aimed at ameliorating the impact of
rising food, fuel and feed prices and ensuring food security.
How can countries access these resources?
What are these projects?
- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), within the
framework of the Initiative for Soaring Food Prices (ISFP), has provided
the Region with support valued in excess of US $4.2 million.
What are the priority projects and how were they selected?
How is the project being implemented?
Information on these issues can be obtained by contacting
your Ministry of Agriculture.
Editor and Production Coordination: Diana Francis
Research: Allister Glean
Layout: Kathryn Duncan
Printing: Orange Printers, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Office in Trinidad and Tobago
P.O. Box 1318, Port of Spain
#10 Austin Street, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Tel: (868) 645-5020; 4555. Fax: (868) 662-8253; Email: diana.francis@iica.int