Business View Caribbean | July 2020

17 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN JULY 2020 This advent is a creation of the “social and physical distancing” advisories advanced by COVID-19 health protocol officials. Young people are becoming excited and businessmen who are engaged in the distribution of goods are finding interesting possibilities from the virtual marketing of Agriculture produce. It is the way to go! CARICOM Member States are all urged to create supportive platforms for food production stakeholders through special budget allocations. This is certainly necessary, since farmers and fisher folk will be witnessing significant increases in the cost of production because of climate change and inevitable slowdowns resulting from the pandemic. Regional barriers to trade must be removed now! The unfounded belief that our ‘lamb’ is bad, but lamb from distant lands must be better must become a myth of the past. The following are achievable targets for the Caribbean’s Agriculture Sector that we must seek to achieve when the COVID-19 dust “clears”: 1. There must be a virtual market place for food products made in CARICOM so that consumers throughout the region can access; 2. Intra-regional trade in agriculture products should be prioritised and increased; 3. Strengthening of local food production value chain will reduce national food import bills; 4. The decline in tourism employment will shift labour and capital towards food production investment, until we see a revival of the tourism sector; 5. Emergence of a modern and competitive food production platform; and 6. Establishment of a working cadre of innovative entrepreneurs across the region working to promote regional import substitution. Effective communication among producers, traders and technicians will be critical for the success of our modern agriculture. Manmade self-centered barriers must be removed. We must collectively own this dispensation. In a truly functioning single market, food products must move freely. I have confidence that we can and will achieve success! ABOUT THE HONOURABLE SABOTO S. CAESAR: Honourable Saboto S. Caesar is a former Island Scholar and lawyer by profession, with a specialisation in Banking and Finance Law. He is the youngest elected member of Parliament in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and currently serves as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour. Honourable Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour in St. Vincent and the Grenadines OPENING L INES