AGRO EXPO 2025
The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture will host Agro Expo 2025 on Tuesday 8th April 2025 at the Botanical Gardens from 9am – 3pm.
Please complete the attached registration form to participate in the Expo.
https://forms.gle/1G56GbbQNNJmDvzR8
2024 AGRO EXPO
The 2024 AGRO EXPO was a huge success by all estimations. Stemming from the first Inter-school Garden Competition the event was beyond expectations. Another positive for both Ministries of Education and Agriculture, the expo was not the first but certainly was one of its kind. The last expo was held two years ago in 2022 was a success, however, this year’s Expo to it put in colloquial term “WAS A SELL OFF!”
The award ceremony of the Inter-school garden competition was one of the many activities of the special day. Fifteen schools competed in three categories which were Pre, Primary and Secondary schools. According to the judge’s report, the competition at all levels was very close. According to the panel of five judges the scores differences between the three top schools were between .1 to 2 points after the final averages.  Resulting in the Pre-school category: Sir Luther Wynter barely edged out the Villa Preschool, Clare Hall Secondary School forged ahead of Sir Novelle Richards Academy with the Old Road Primary School winning the Cedar Grove Primary School for first place and also overall CHAMPION!
Other activities for the day included sightseeing and visiting a wide variety of stalls, livestock animals, picture taking, and an exclusive raffle for prizes based on the Expo tickets purchased by the students. The event was fully supported by stakeholders such as CARDI, Ministry officials such as Mrs. Rosa Greenaway – Permanent Secretary/Ministry of Education, and Mr. Gregory Bailey, Director/Agriculture, students, teachers, administrators, parents, farmers, agro-processors, and well wishers.
The Organizers would like to express sincere gratitude to Minister E.P. Chet Green – Minister of Agriculture, who donated the prizes for Primary School winners, Minister Daryll Matthew – Minister of Education who donated the prizes for the Secondary School winners and Senator Samantha Marshall – Ministry of Social Transformation who donated the prizes for the Pre-school winners. Other prizes that were given to various achievers were sponsored by Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), A & R Hardware, Louis Brothers, Antigua Home & Garden Supplies and Dew Pro Builders.
With such a tremendous success simply means that AGRO EXPO is guaranteed to be an annual event. Thank the Lord Almighty and Mother Nature for holding the rain, the weather was overcast but fair for the duration of the event. Kudos to ABS Television, Menace XL and everyone for making it a fantastic occasion and a wonderful experience.
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CARDI VISITS BARBUDA
From Wednesday 31st January to Friday 2nd February, Mr. Junior Greene, CARDI representative for Antigua/Barbuda and Montserrat visited Barbuda and held several engagements while there. The first of these was his visit to the Sir McChestney George Secondary School Agricultural Science Department. During his interaction with the students Mr. Greene gave a synopsis about the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) which included its modus operandi, mission, vision and importance to the region.
Afterwards, the students accompanied Mr. Greene to the school farm where he explained about plants nutrition and deficiencies. During that time, he examined plants for pests and diseases, diagnosing what were found and recommended how to eradicate the pests and cure the diseases.
On Thursday 1st February, Mr. Greene paid visits to crop and livestock farmers. He discovered that the ruminants were free-range raised and that the livestock farmers have the capacity to supply the market with high quality meat. During the consultation, the farmers asked for assistance to improving the breeding stock on the island and for more regular veterinary services.
It was noted that most of the vegetables grown on Barbuda was done by the backyard gardeners which were grown with little or no pesticides. Most of the producers expressed great interest in increasing the production of sweet potatoes and requested CARDI’s assistance.  Some of the crops grown on the island are Lettuces, Tomatoes, sweet peppers, okras, peanuts, sweet potatoes.
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SOUTHWEST FARMERS MARKET

CARDI Sweet Potato and Cassava Workshop
CARDI Sweet Potato and Cassava Workshop

Please contact Mr. Junior Greene on 776-5576
Ministry of Agriculture participated in Agriculture in International Trade Agreements (AITA) – special edition for CARICOM

Dr. Diandra Payne, one of the veterinarians attached to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Division recently participated in an online course and was a successful achiever. This FAO activity attracted many within the OECS including several from Antigua and Barbuda. This Virtual Course was held from 26 April to 24 May 2023, under the title, “Agriculture in International Trade Agreements (AITA) – special edition for CARICOM”
The general objective of this course was to provide tools that will enable participants to acquire and/or deepen their knowledge of international trade, and the main trade policy instruments related to agricultural trade for the Caribbean.
Additionally, there were specific objectives:
· To strengthen capacities for analyzing the international economic situation and policies related to international trade.
· To understand the different trade policy instruments, the functioning of the multilateral trade system and the development of mega-trade agreements and the implications for the agricultural sector.
· To become familiar with new international trade issues, especially those related to agriculture that have an impact on the Caribbean.
At the end of the tutorial phase, the participants were assessed and this was done via a series of evaluations. In addition, they had to participate in webinars and reflection forums. The final evaluation and passing requirements of the participants required a 60% passing grade and the following percentage scale was used:
· Approve: 60 to 100 points
· Fail: 0 to 59 points
In her remarks, Dr. Payne said, “It was a very detailed and interactive course providing a wealth of knowledge on International and Regional Trade, as well as the policies that affect Agriculture Trade with a special emphasis/focus on the Caribbean”.
INVITATION TO WEBINAR on INFOSAN & CODEX 06
Webinar on INFOSAN and Codex as part of the World Food
Safety Day
6 June 2023
15:00 – 16:30 CET
CODEX Guidelines on food safety emergencies and INFOSAN
Concept note
Webinar objective
– Highlight the role of Codex standards in international food trade
– Discuss the current support of Codex standards to INFOSAN operation
– Identify the future support needed from Codex for more effective international response to food
safety emergencies and INFOSAN’s contribution to that
– Gather INFOSAN members’ ideas for a potential future Codex work and ways to proceed.
Current landscape
Since its creation in 2004, the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) has
facilitated the rapid exchange of information across borders and between its members, during hundreds of
food safety events. As a member-driven global network, INFOSAN is a practical, effective and efficient tool for
information exchange, allowing for the implementation of risk management measures to prevent foodborne
illness and save lives. The core of INFOSAN’s work is based on and is guided by international standards. In
particular, the international standards concerning food safety emergencies are based on FAO/WHO Codex
Alimentarius’ texts, or “Food Code”, which is a collection of international standards, guidelines, and codes of
practice to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. INFOSAN also makes
use of the “FAO/WHO framework for developing national food safety emergency response plans”
1 which
reinforces preparedness and recognizes the importance of national capacities for a rapid response to food
safety emergencies and the need for an associated effective multi-agency coordination mechanism. INFOSAN
also uses other guidance materials that are in line with CODEX, such as the “WHO Strategic Framework for
Emergency Preparedness”
2which is a unifying framework that identifies the principles and elements of
effective country health emergency preparedness.
Codex and INFOSAN
The link between Codex and INFOSAN originates in the 2004 revision of the Codex text “Principles and
Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations”
3
. The 2004 revision required
the establishment of national contact points and triggered the creation of INFOSAN in the same year.
NFOSAN’s role has also been highlighted in the recent 2022 Codex Guidelines on the management of biological
foodborne outbreaks4
.
Rationale for this webinar
1
FAO/WHO framework for developing national food safety emergency response plans
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/8f6e46af-7e8b-554a-8f9f-95f87084439c/
2 A strategic framework for emergency preparedness https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/a-strategic-frameworkfor-emergency-preparedness
3 Principles and Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations
https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/shproxy/jp/?
Since the establishment of INFOSAN in 2004, a global network jointly managed by WHO and FAO, the
Secretariat and its network has made use of international standards in food safety emergencies and
furthermore was in the position of almost two decades to support and shape the landscape of Codex and
national standard setting indirectly through the knowledge exchange within the Network. The daily activities
of INFOSAN have helped the international community of food safety competent authorities to better
understand the role and applicability of international standards in food safety emergencies. This webinar will
explore the role of INFOSAN regarding the use of international standards in food safety ncies and
discuss how this join work could be further adapted and further developed using lessons learnt from
international food safety emergencies.
Key questions to be addressed during the webinar
– Why does it matter to have an international Codex standard for the exchange of information in food
safety emergencies?
– How are international standards assisting the INFOSAN Secretariat in contributing to international
response to food safety emergencies?
– What is the perception of Member States on the impact of international guidelines for response to
food safety emergencies and role of INFOSAN?
– Perceived gaps and thoughts for further Codex work to enhance the effectiveness of international
response to food safety emergencies and INFOSAN contribution to that.
Webinar audience
INFOSAN members only. Registration under the following link:
https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bjIoQr9AQ_-dClPuWOg9oA
Format
On-line one-and-a half hour panel discussion with interventions from relevant stakeholders.
The panel will be followed by Q&A session.
The webinar will be hosted via Zoom, with a dedicated space for written Q&A.
Agenda:
Time Topic Speaker
15:00-15:05 Introduction and housekeeping Moderator: Dr Moez Sanaa,
Head of Unit, Standards and
Scientific Advice on Food and Nutrition,
WHO
15:05-15:15 Building resilience of agrifood systems with
Codex standards and INFOSAN
Dr Eleonora Dupouy, Food Safety Officer,
Food Systems and Food Safety Division, FAO
15:15-15:25 Presentation from CODEX: Guidelines on food
safety emergency situations
Speaker: Diego Varela, CODEX Alimentarius
Vice-Chair, Chile
15:25-15:35 Presentation from WTO: Food safety information
sharing and trade
Speaker: Christiane Wolff, Head of Sanitary
and phytosanitary Section, WTO
15:35-15:45 Food Chain-Lab: The role of science in
international food safety standards
Speaker: Dr Marion Gottschald, Senior
Scientific Officer, Federal Institute for Risk
Assessment, Germany
15:45-15:55 Regional perspective from Central Asia Speaker: Dr Nailya Karsybekova , National
Coordinator for Codex Alimentarius
Kazakhstan
15:55-16:05 National perspective from Qatar Speaker: Dr Wasan Al Baker, Food Safety &
Environment Health Manager at the Public
Health Department, Qatar
16:05-16:25 Q&A Session Moderator: Dr Moez Sanaa, WHO
16:25 -16:30 Closing remarks Dr Eleonora Dupouy, FAO
Dr Moez Sanaa, WHO
IICA 2nd Virtual Trade Mission for the Caribbean
The Caribbean Virtual Agri-Food Trade Mission 2022
OCEAN FEST 2022
https://fb.watch/gcTMXZMStI/?mibextid=UrCmGV7
