News Releases

UWI and FAO strengthen ties

For Release Upon Receipt - July 5, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad & Tobago – On Friday July 5, Director-General Dr. José Graziano da Silva of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), paid a courtesy call on Professor Clement Sankat, Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) at the St. Augustine Campus and staff of the new Faculty of Food and Agriculture of the UWI.

The courtesy call came on the heels of Professor Sankat’s presentation at the 30th West Indies Agricultural Economic Conference on July 1, where he urged Caribbean leaders to “walk the talk” and deepen the support of research, development and innovation in Food and Agriculture through the urgent adoption of several initiatives, including the removal of physical and technical barriers to agricultural trade in the region.

Between 2003 and 2004, Dr. Graziano da Silva served in the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cabinet of Brazil as Extraordinary Minister for Food Security, being responsible for implementing the Fome Zero programme, which took 28 million people out of the national poverty line during the 8 years of the Lula administration. Elected on June 26, 2011, Dr. Graziano became the first Latin American Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization.  Having assumed this role on January 1, 2012, his term will come to an end in July 2015.

The delegation, which included Carlos Hartog, Special Adviser, FAO, Rome; Sharon Brennen-Haylock, FAO, New York; Dr. John Deep Ford, Sub Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean and Representative for Barbados; and Dr. Barton Clarke, FAO Representative, United Nations, was given a presentation of the work and achievements of The UWI’s Faculty of Food and Agriculture by acting Dean, Dr. Carlisle Pemberton.  This was followed by a guided tour of the Chocolate Production Lab at the internationally recognized Cocoa Research Centre of the St. Augustine Campus.

The contingent arrived on Wednesday, July 3, to participate in the 34th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM.

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About Dr. José Graziano da Silva

José Graziano da Silva (born November 17, 1949) is an American-born Brazilian agronomist and writer. As a scholar, he has authored several books about the problems of agriculture in Brazil. Dr. Graziano da Silva has worked on issues of food security, rural development and agriculture for over 30 years. In 2001 he led the team that designed Brazil’s "Zero Hunger" (Fome Zero) programme. In 2003, he was charged with its implementation by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who named him Special Minister of Food Security and the Fight against Hunger. He was elected Director-General of FAO by the Organization’s Conference of Member nations on 26 June 2011. His election as Director-General was welcomed, stressing the need for continued reform and a push for sustainable agricultural development, greater access to nutritional crops and more opportunities for women and small-scale farmers.

 

About The Cocoa Research Centre

Cocoa Research Centre is a campus centre of The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine. It is responsible for maintenance of the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad (ICG, T) around which on-going research activities of characterisation, evaluation and utilisation are centred. The management of the centre is under the leadership of Director, Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan. Research activities include germplasm conservation, morphological and molecular characterisation of cocoa, screening of cocoa germplasm for resistance to diseases, cocoa germplasm enhancement (pre-breeding for desirable traits), and quality and flavour assessment. In addition to research, the centre offers training to visitors and facilities for scientists from other organisations.

 

About THE UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

 (Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

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