Agriculture a priority agenda item at Caricom-Mexico Summit -Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar told leaders at the Third Caricom-Mexico Summit that the Caribbean Community has identified agriculture as a priority area vital for food security and for maintaining the political stability of the Region.

Speaking at the Summit, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, Ramotar said he welcomed Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto’s announcement of his government’s financial contribution to the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture to support the improvement of the agriculture sector in Caricom member states.

Ramotar noted that despite many initiatives to stem this occurrence, Caricom was still a net importer of food with a food bill amounting to more than US$4b per year. He asserted that the Region needed a joint agricultural policy through which member states could complement each other and raise their production to reduce the vulnerability in the