The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Representative in T&T, Gregg Rawlins, recently presented a cheque to Dr Mario Fortune, chairman of the local organizing committee of the Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS) in support of the hosting of the upcoming 49th annual conference.The conference will be held June 30-July 6 at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain under the theme Agribusiness essential for food security: Empowering youth and enhancing quality products.
The CFCS, an independent professional organisation with interdisciplinary orientation and membership was constituted on May 3 1963 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is a non-profit organisation with the mandate to foster communication and contribute to the development of science, technology and production of food crops and animals in the Caribbean.This year, the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) and the Caribbean Agro-Economic Society (CAES) will jointly hold the regional conference which is expected to attract more than 300 participants and provide a forum for agricultural scientists to present papers and discuss issues around the general theme of the conference.
The CFCS has over 350 active members from 22 countries, while the ISHS has over 7000 individual members and the CAES has approximately 300 members from the Caribbean and North America. For the upcoming conference the organising committee has included a Farmers Forum in which representatives from various farmer organisations in T&T are expected to deliver presentations on various aspects of the local agricultural sector.IICA, a specialised agency of the Inter-American System for the promotion of agriculture and rural well-being, has supported the CFCS throughout the years in planning and executing the annual conferences, recognising the role the CFCS has adopted in promoting agriculture and food security in the Caribbean.