Climate Change and Agriculture in the Caribbean

ACM: St Georges, Grenada … Climate Change and Agriculture in the Caribbean

October 17, 2010 – Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) was launched in Grenada on Sunday October
17 with the focus on Climate Change and its impact on regional agriculture.

The Climate Change component of the observance includes a workshop which aims at convening
integrated discussions to find ways to better manage the resources at hand and to develop new
strategies for development in the region in Agriculture.

Later this week, there will be a workshop for Caribbean journalists on covering agriculture and food
production issues co-hosted by the ACM.

The workshop was formally opened by Executive Director of the Caribbean Agricultural Research
and Development Institute (CARDI), Dr Arlington Chesney. He called on some 40 participants to work
together to develop a comprehensive approach to dealing with agriculture in the future and to

find a role for all governmental agencies to support each other. He said the media also have
a responsibility to help promote new approaches and ideologies for a sustainable life and
agriculture.

Mr Michael Hailu, Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA –
ACP-EU) - major partner and sponsor of the CWA activities - said the CTA is focusing on assisting the
Caribbean Region in developing strategies, through interaction, with a focus on support for the role of
small and medium agricultural enterprises in terms of promoting its growth.

Mr Hailu said he is very impressed with the response and the eagerness of the Caribbean Experts
to finding a way out to adapt and mitigate the effects of Climate Change while sustaining a viable
agriculture sector.

Key feature speaker Professor Albert Binger, Energy Science Advisor at the Caribbean Community
Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and Science and Policy Advisor to the Alliance of Small Island States
(AOSIS) called on experts to “get busy” as climate change already upon the Caribbean.

He stressed that a projected rise of one metre in sea level will be especially detrimental to the region’s
tourism industry.

He said that such a scenario can run Caribbean governments into a US $100 million repair bill.

The ACM is pleased to provide all the CWA-related events on its networks, www.acmediaworkers.com
and www.livestream.com /acmediaworkers. The live video stream is accompanied by live chat and
journalists throughout the region are encouraged to participate in the discussion by logging in with
your facebook or Twitter credentials. There is also a blog set up at www.acmediaworkers.blogspot.com
where regular updates will be posted, and you are also encouraged to comment on the matters being
discussed.

Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers

Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers

Unit 1, Upper Level, Élan Place, 137 Eastern Main Rd,
St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
T: 1 (868) 296-8009
E: acmmail@gmail.com
W: www.acmediaworkers.com

The CWA, the CTA and ACM have been conducting an e-discussion forum and journalists are invited
to visit http://groups.google.com/group/cta-workshop to express their opinions on the topics being
debated.

For further information contact Adelle Roopchand , ACM Media Relations at 1-473-537-4605 or email
at adelleroopchand@gmail.com