THE Project Management Unit (PMU) of the European Union-funded Agricultural Policy Programme for CARIFORUM countries has established a website which aims at updating visitors on the progress of the project.

The website for the project, which aims at promoting development of smallholder agriculture in the Caribbean, is named www. appcariforum. net.

Manager of the Project Management Unit (PMU) for the Programme, Mr. Robert Best, said the new website reflects the project’s mandate to provide members of the public with easy access to information about the project.

The APP is funded under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), and is executed through a Contribution Agreement signed between the European Commission (EC) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)‚ with implementing partners being Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the CARICOM Secretariat.

The countries which will benefit include Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda; the Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; the Commonwealth of Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Grenada; Haiti; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago.

The end beneficiaries at the grassroots level are, among others, small farmers; fisher-folk; small-scale processors and traders, including organised associations and networks; and women and youth.

Launched in Guyana in March last year, the project involves the expenditure of 8.6 million Euros over a period of four years.
The site explains and provides information on the three inter-related components of the project, designed to enhance capabilities of regional agriculture to eradicate poverty.

The site boasts a contemporary design with easy navigation to content, including pictures of beneficiaries in action, a background and overview of the project, background on the implementing agencies and their responsibilities, and media releases and updates.

The PMU is based at the IICA Office in Trinidad.

(By Clifford Stanley)