NEW BRIEF: Inception Consultation for the Sweet Potato Next Generation Project
St. John’s, Antigua, 29th October 2024 (IICA) – The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners held the first national consultation meeting of stakeholders of the newly funded Next Generation Sweet Potato Project in Antigua and Barbuda. The consultation brought together representatives of public institutions, NGOs and organizations directly involved in the development and implementation of the regional project on sweet potato production, genetic research and quality planting materials. The opening ceremony was chaired by the National Specialist of IICA-Antigua and Barbuda Mr. Craig M. Thomas.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Thomas, made a brief background of the Next Gen Project which started was conceptualized in 2022 and approved in 2023. The project officially launched its activities in August, 2024 with the formulation of a technical working group who will support IICA with the implementation and coordination of the project activities.
Mr. Gregg Rawlins-IICA ECS Representative who joined the session virtually emphasized on the importance of partnership among key agencies for the implementation of the project. He also mentioned that the Next Gen Sweet Potato Project will not solved all the issues due to the project focus however he indicated that the project will improve genetic materials ensuring that our local farmers will have pest free materials.
Also joining virtually was Mr. Melvin Medina Navarro –Plant Production and Protection Officer for the sub-regional Office of FAO in the Caribbean highlighted that farmers in the Caribbean region growing vegetables, fruits, roots & tubers have been experiencing increased pest and diseases, extreme climatic events (hurricanes, excessive heat, flood and droughts), soil degradation and water scarcity that have resulted in low yields and economic losses.
Then, Mr. Gregory Bailey-Director of Agriculture, emphasized the importance of the project for Antigua and Barbuda as sweet potato has the potential to increase post-harvest value added products such as to reduce wheat flour substitution material conservation, he also emphasized on the importance of the data and statistics collection which will further supports the Ministry strategic action plan.
Mr. Bradbury Browne-Irrigation Specialist gave a brief presentation of previous research work completed by the Caribbean Agriculture Research Development Institute (CARDI) during his tenure as Technician. He presented the sweet potato ex-situ project a joint activity between CARDI-IICA identifying the accessions of sweet potato found in Antigua and Barbuda. To date there are approximately 90 accessions of sweet potato identified in Antigua and Barbuda.
The technical project leader, Dr. Elizabeth Johnson-IICA International Specialist for Crop Production and Innovation presented a presentation which highlighted the vision of the Benefit Sharing Fund (BSF) among areas such as Nagoya Protocols and the convention of Biological Diversity (CDB). Dr. Johnson also highlighted the five main areas of focus under the activities which will be executed in Antigua and Barbuda which includes:
Output 1:
Ø The utilization of sweet Potato genetic resources to improve/diversify the sweet potato value chain;
Ø Utilization of native microorganism genetic diversity to identify bio control (entomopathogenic fungi) agents for the sweet potato weevil for bio pesticide development;
Ø Build capacity of farmers to make best use of the above resources and market access
· Output II: Make quality sweet potato planting materials readily available to farmers
· Output III: Sweet potato Cropping Calendars developed for Antigua and Barbuda.
The national consultation meeting allowed for further reflection on the partnership model, clarification of intentions and responsibilities, exploration of alternatives, and then identification of potential stakeholders at the national level who could commit to undertaking specific activities. The results of the national consultations will therefore serve as the basis for proposed recommendations partnership agreement for the implementation of the project outputs.
The project which will be executed from 2024-2028 is currently funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) through the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.