GUYANA will host the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), the premier agricultural event on the regional calendar,which will bring together stakeholders from October 4 to 12.

The programme of activities will promote agriculture and agri-industries through policy dialoguing, learning sessions and an exhibition showcasing the fruits of the sector.
Coordinator of the CWA, Ms. Natasha Beerjit, in a telephone interview yesterday, pointed out that this, the  12th in the series held in different countries over the past years, is being hosted in Guyana for the second time since 2003.
The 2013 theme is ‘Linking the Caribbean for Regional Food Security and Rural Development’ and the staging by Guyana is in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA); the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNFAO);the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the CARICOM Secretariat.
Beerjit said the CWA is intended as the facility to place agriculture and rural life in a prominent position in order for the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors to better acknowledge their importance to the economy and social and environmental stability, as well as afford stakeholders an opportunity to forge a common vision for the repositioning of its pursuit.

Several activities
She explained that several activities, events and meetings are being planned in furtherance of member countries’ commitments under the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu.
They include workshops, annual general meetings of Alliance members, a ministerial forum, field trips and an exhibition and trade show, to be staged at the Guyana International Conference Centre, from October 9 to 11, the first day during 15:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs and the next two days 09:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs.
Beerjit said those will be educational for schoolchildren and others interested in agriculture and it is expected to attract exhibits from agri-businesses of the Caribbean in the form of primary and processed agricultural products, services and handicraft etc.
She encouraged schools to participate in this exhibition, as well, stating that they will get a chance to showcase different aspects of agriculture from their educational standpoint.
Beerjit said the aim of the show is to facilitate the establishment of regional and extra-regional market linkages.
The official launching of CWA 2013 will be attended by President Donald Ramotar, Government ministers and visiting dignitaries.
Meanwhile, in a message on the CWA website, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said:“It is envisaged that CWA 2013 will not only be bigger but better.
“This 12th CWA will begin the transformation of CWA into the Caribbean’s premier technical meeting for agriculture. All relevant stakeholders will see, experience and learn about what’s happening and new trajectories for the agriculture sector.”
For more information, persons can visit the official CWA website at http://cwa.caricom.org for registration forms or contact the Ministry of Agriculture CWA Secretariat at Shiv Chanderpaul Drive and Regent Road, Georgetown, on telephone number 226-2219.