The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has introduced a new initiative designed to strengthen the competitiveness, operational efficiency and market access of agricultural micro and small enterprises (AgriMSEs) in five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.
It said that the AgriMSE Business Development and Regional Market Integration Project funded by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Representative of the IICA Delegation in Trinidad and Tobago, Diana Francis, has underscored the importance of strengthening AgriMSEs as key drivers of agricultural value chains, rural livelihoods and food security.
She said that integrating AgrMSEs into the economy and markets required strong and continuous partnerships among regional institutions, development partners, the private sector, and most importantly, the consumers.
The IICA official said the engagement and support from distribution, marketing and logistics firms will also be critical to ensure that products from the AgriMSE sector can be successfully moved within domestic markets and to markets across the region and abroad.
The AgriMSE Business Development and Regional Market Integration Project will be implemented over an 18–24-month period.
“This has to be seen as more than just a project. While it is similar to several past and possibly future projects, it is overpoweringly focused on ensuring that agri-food products from micro and small agribusinesses (AgriMSEs) meet the quality and price competitive requirements to enter and establish presence in domestic and export markets,” she said, adding that the project also intends to strengthen the base for continued organized and collaborative engagement in support of AgriMSEs through the IICA-CPSO partnership and other like-minded collaborators.
IICA said that while the initiative is being implemented through three specialized consultancy streams designed to deliver targeted technical support to participating enterprises, it will ensure team integration and coordination and provide technical backstopping, stakeholder outreach and engagement support.
IICA said that these consultancy streams include EconoTech Ltd., leading on AgriMSEs business and production operational efficiencies for scale-up and market access, Jai Rampersad, leading on intra-regional marketing and export facilitation, and GBest Consulting, leading on AgriMSE credit worthiness, readiness and financing accessibility.
“Working inclusively with national entities, these workstreams are expected to improve enterprise performance, enhance export readiness and facilitate greater access to financing and investment opportunities for AgriMSEs in the participating countries,” IICA added.
Agricultural Health, Food Safety and Quality Specialist for the Caribbean at IICA in Barbados, Janet Lawrence, who made a presentation on complementary initiatives funded by the European Union (EU) noted that the Europe has been a longstanding partner in supporting agricultural development in the Caribbean, providing funding for projects addressing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues and related capacity building initiatives across the region for more than a decade.
She said that the EU projects complement the IICA-CDB project and will support stakeholders across the wider Caribbean region.
These initiatives will provide additional resources to support not only AgriMSEs themselves but also policymakers and institutions responsible for strengthening the enabling environment necessary for agricultural enterprises to thrive.
The EU projects also focus on areas such as agricultural health, food safety, quality assurance and regulatory frameworks, all of which are essential to enabling AgriMSEs to compete effectively in regional and international markets.
Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director of the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO), Patrick Antoine, spoke of the importance of stronger collaboration between small agricultural enterprises and larger regional firms to address common constraints related to scale, logistics and processing.
He said that the CPSO is establishing a Regional Agribusiness Working Group which will support the continuation of the project’s objectives beyond the life of the consultancy.
“The intention behind the Regional Agribusiness Working Group is to bring together the experience, networks and technical capabilities of larger regional enterprises to directly support the growth of AgriMSEs.
“Through collaboration in areas such as shared processing, logistics and packaging, we can help smaller enterprises overcome scale constraints and position themselves more effectively for regional and even international markets,” Antoine said.
He said that the participation and support of distribution, marketing, and logistics companies will also be essential to ensure that AgriMSE products can be successfully marketed in domestic markets, as well as in regional and international markets.
Antoine noted the growing engagement between Caribbean and African private sectors, making reference to the recent announcement by the Egypt -based African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) to increase its investment commitment to the Caribbean from three to five billion US dollars.
He said this signals expanded financing opportunities for regional enterprises and that the Working Group will allow the CPSO to leverage partnerships such as these, alongside tools like the Regional AgriMSE Database being developed under the project, providing targeted support to enterprises beyond the project’s lifespan while contributing to the CARICOM 25 by 2025 plus five food security agenda. (CMC)
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