Caribbean Institute to assist coconut processor groups in Guyana

Feb 19, 2017 News

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is collaborating with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to host a two-day training workshop on group strengthening for processors working in Guyana’s

CARDI is collaborating with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to host workshops on group strengthening for processors in Guyana’s coconut industry.

coconut industry.
The training will specifically target small scale processors involved in the development of coconut-based value added products. Participants will be exposed to group strengthening activities such as trust and governance and will learn about marketing opportunities and financial management.
The overarching goal of the workshop is to strengthen small scale processor groups so as to increase their competitiveness ultimately leading to the development of an export oriented agri-processing sector.
Executive Director of CARDI, Barton Clarke, said that a similar workshop will be held in Suriname during March. There have been others in Belize, Jamaica, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Clarke said that CARDI is happy to be implementing these training workshops to better organise processor groups as this will lead to development of better quality value added coconut products as well as increase incomes and employment opportunities.
This workshop is part of the ongoing project “Coconut Industry Development for the Caribbean” financed by the European and jointly implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).
The workshop will start on Monday in Region Two, at the NAREI Agricultural Service Centre, Charity, Essequibo Coast. The sessions will be facilitated by experts in group dynamics, value chain and agribusiness development.
Additionally, CARDI is collaborating with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to host a two-day workshop to explore the feasibility of using GIS tools to monitor and manage the Black Sigatoka Disease of banana and plantain in Guyana.
GIS is growing in importance as a decision-making tool for the agricultural sector. Specifically, it provides valuable information that can be used to cost effectively and efficiently monitor, predict and manage the spread of agricultural pest and diseases.
Black Sigatoka has been identified as one of the major constraints to banana and plantain production in the Caribbean. The use of GIS tools is being considered as part of the suite of options in the development of an integrated disease management (IDM) plan for BSD.
As such participants at the workshop will be given an overview of GIS and its applicability to agriculture, specifically BSD, and learn about the importance of data and data collection techniques. An assessment of the requirements for the establishment and maintenance of such a system in country will also be discussed with particular emphasis on the technical training, equipment, software and personnel needs for BSD surveillance and management.
The workshop will take place from February 27, 2017 at the Grand Coastal Hotel.

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