Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
October 23, 2023 – Increased funding for Research and Development (R and D) is a critical focus in reaching vision 25 by 2025, says Dr. Ansari Hosein, Executive Director, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).
Bringing forth the urgent need for more food production and productivity, Hosein informed that increased R and D efforts are of great importance and that the public and private sector must remain cognizant of this fact.
He said this is the time for the necessary entities to pour more money into R and D instead of withholding it.
The executive director pointed out that nearly all productivity improvements are credited to R and D, whether it be mechanical, that is the development of farm equipment or biological, which has to do with the plant and animal breeds, or management related such as developing integrated pest management techniques.
CARDI, Hosein says, is committed to providing the science based solutions for transforming and repositioning regional agriculture on a path to greater success.
For this, he says the organization has aligned its research programmes and resource mobilization initiatives to contribute to reaching the 25 by 2025 goal.
“We continue to address production gaps and develop [the value chains] of the key party commodities identified by the ministerial taskforce for [port replacement],”he added.
Furthermore, the director expressed that for the remaining time as Caribbean Week of Agriculture continues, CARDI will educate on the progress and outcomes of the ongoing Research and Development activities.
Also, insight into the organization’s intervention in coconuts, digital technologies in agriculture, livestock feeding systems and plant breeding will be provided.
Reiterating the need for the unification of the necessary bodies to see that vision 25 by 2025 comes to pass, Hosein maintained that agriculture week is not just about sharing the results of CARDI’s work but also to hear and listen to various partners and stakeholder about they work they also do, as collaboration is the key to the desired success for the region.
