Grant

Farmers attending the inaugural Caribbean Farmers Association Network (CaFAN) conference in Barbados were urged to capitalise on the opportunities that exist for intra-regional trade.

Senator Norman Grant, president of the CaFAN, in his opening address to the many farmers who gathered from around the region to attend the two-week event that started on January 22, stressed that, "As a region we are not capitalising on the opportunity of this single economic space as the region is still struggling to get to double digits in intra-regional trade."

Senator Grant said intra-regional trading was less than 10 per cent of current demand. Citing Jamaica as an example, he pointed out that the country continued to import more than it exports.

Still at a loss

The CaFAN president, who is also the president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, noted that Jamaica's import bill was US$3.9 billion, compared with the US$1.4 billion earned from exports based on 2004 figures.

"While there is increased trade in agro-processed goods (jams, sauces, pickles, canned foods, beverages), Jamaica's exports have not been as vibrant as we would desire. In fact, overall exports have been declining while imports have been increasing," Senator Grant noted.

The CaFAN was formed in 2004 out of a technical workshop organised by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the European Union's Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation. The association is a network of regional farmers non-governmental bodies and agencies.

According to Senator Grant, the purpose of the CaFAN is to link "Caribbean farmers so that they are in a better position to discuss challenges facing them with a view to come up with feasible proposals at the national and regional level."