Caribbean ministers
pledge to reduce rural poverty Additional
resources needed for educating and training rural
people
A meeting was held on Thursday
25th May 25, 2006 between Dr. Marikis Alvarez of
IICA, Mr. Arnold Dorsett, BAIC and Mr. Godfrey
Eneas, The Bahamas Ambassador to the UN's FAO.
Several issues relevant to developments in the
hemisphere, namely the recent accord between FAO
and IICA were discussed.
This Accord was signed in
Caracas, Venezuela at the Latin American and
Caribbean Regional FAO Conference.
The purpose of the Accord was to
facilitate greater cooperation between FAO and
IICA thereby avoiding duplication of effort. FAO
is an UN Agency with global responsibility for
food production. IICA, on the other hand, is a
hemispheric body under the aegis of the
Organization of American States (OAS).
Discussions also took place on
the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher
Education Centre (CATIE) where Mr. Eneas
represents the Inter American Region as a member
of the Board of Directors. IICA is one of the main
financial contributors to CATIE, whose membership
is drawn from principally from Central America;
however it undertakes work in the Caribbean and
South America. Steps are being taken to utilize
the resources at CATIE to advance agriculture in
The Bahamas, particularly in the area of
bio-diversity, Agro-forestry and training.
Several issues were mentioned
namely agri-developments in the Southeastern
Bahamas and the role of stakeholders in the
marketing of Bahamian produce, specifically the
concept of adding value to local produce via
further processing IICA has been a leader in
encouraging diversification in Agricultural Sector
of Caribbean States moving the region to develop
more agribusinesses.
Saint Lucia/Rome, 26 May 2006 -
Caribbean ministers and high level education,
agriculture and rural development officials
pledged greater efforts to reduce poverty among
rural communities, but stressed that "raising the
priority and increasing the action for educating
and training rural people will inevitably demand
additional resources."
"We pledge to use our best
efforts to reinforce action to further reduce
poverty among communities dependent on
agriculture, fisheries, forestry and
micro-enterprises for their well-being," they said
in a communiqué issued at the end of the Caribbean
Conference on Education for Rural People (Saint
Lucia, May 18-19, 2006).
"While we can certainly expect
our governments, our civil societies, our business
sectors and even rural people themselves and their
communities to support local initiatives in
Education for Rural People, we shall need and
indeed require the support of the Caribbean
Development Bank, the World Bank and our bilateral
partners," the communiqué said.
Caribbean ministers of education,
agriculture and rural development noted that
despite setbacks from natural disasters -
hurricanes and volcanic eruptions - and an adverse
world economy, there had been much progress in
training and education at all levels in their
region.
However, poverty and indigence
rates remained higher among rural people than
among the rest of the population. This was
qualified as "unacceptable" by the participants,
who agreed that education and training approaches
should be changed so as to make new opportunities
accessible and attractive to poor rural
people.
The participants recognized that
they could do more in association with civil
society and the business sector.
They called upon regional and
international cooperation agencies, particularly
FAO and UNESCO, to assist in devising locally
feasible systems of monitoring, evaluation and
research to keep track of progress and to develop
new strategies to deal with emerging issues.
The MDGs "Better education and
training for people living in rural communities
will increase employment and enhance livelihoods
while contributing to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals," FAO education
expert Lavinia Gasperini said.
"Education for rural people has a
direct impact on all the MDGs. In this respect,
the Caribbean conference helped raise awareness on
the importance of Education for Rural People as a
crucial step towards eradicating poverty and
hunger, achieving universal primary education and
promoting gender equity," Ms Gasperini also
said.
The Caribbean conference on
education was organized by FAO, the Italian
Development Cooperation office, the Government of
Saint Lucia, UNESCO's International Institute for
Educational Planning, the World Bank, the
Inter-America Institute for Cooperation in
Agriculture, the Caribbean Development Bank , the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and other
partners.
Several ministers and
high-ranking officials from education,
agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural
development ministries of the Caribbean countries
attended the Conference.
