Readout of the bilateral meeting with The Honourable Jomo Campbell, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Georgetown, Guyana -The FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with H.E. The Honourable Jomo Campbell Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on the sidelines of the Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC38), taking place in Georgetown, Guyana.

The Minister stressed that his country suffered the devastating action of hurricane Dorian in September 2019, a Category 5 hurricane that is remembered as the worst cyclone to ever strike the islands. He added that the overlapping effects of the cyclone and the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted tourism. He further added that the country has, however, begun a process of rebuilding.

The Director-General acknowledged the challenges faced by small islands in transforming their economies. He highlighted the importance of integrating agriculture from field to the table through value addition.

The Director-General further suggested working with experts from various fields and involving relevant ministries to create a comprehensive and sustainable cooperation plan.

The pair agreed to continue strengthening collaboration between FAO and The Bahamas, especially to support transformation of agrifood systems.