December 2008


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Editorial

Building on its tradition of research and innovation in agriculture, at a time when the escalating demand for biofuels, as well as increased demand for food in India and China and deteriorating arable lands are having an impact on economies worldwide, the UWI organised an International Congress focussed on “Overcoming Challenges to Developing Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in the Tropics”. Hosted by The Faculty of Science and Agriculture at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port of Spain, from November 30th to December 5th, the event brought together scientists and practitioners in Tropical Agriculture to examine the challenges and find solutions.

The Congress consisted of a conference (December 1st-3rd), immediately followed by a two-day Caribbean workshop from (December 4th -5th), which addressed regional issues pertaining to food security and poverty alleviation, towards drafting a white paper for CARICOM on the way forward. Gold sponsors of the event included, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the Netherlands and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Barbados.

The Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was invited to give the feature address at the Opening Ceremony, with regional remarks by Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, a UWI Faculty of Agriculture graduate and current Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA). Participants were also welcomed by the Vice Chancellor E. Nigel Harris, Principal Professor Clement Sankat, and Dean Professor Dyer Narinesingh. In closing, a Vote of Thanks to contributors was given by Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan.

Several internationally renowned scientists including Professor Malcolm Elliot, Executive Director, Norman Borlaug Institute for Plant Science Research, UK, Professor Arthur B.J. Mol, Chair and Professor in Environmental Policy, Agricultural Research Centre, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, Professor of Tropical Agronomy, University of Nottingham, UK and Dr. Thembela Hillie, Principal Scientist, National Centre for Nano-Structured Materials, South Africa, examined issues presented by the challenges of globalisation and the resulting food crises, and in turn, suggested possible solutions.

Similarly, a number of key resource persons were invited to provide a Caribbean response to these global challenges, including former graduates of the Faculty, Dr. Ridwan Ali (Retired World Banker), Mr. Winston Rudder (Cropper Foundation), Dr. Carlisle Pemberton of The University of the West Indies, School of Agriculture, and Dr. J. Deep Ford (FAO). Researchers also contributed a total of 45 papers that were presented in simultaneous sessions.

“Globally, agriculture is facing numerous challenges due to limited and or deteriorating arable lands, levelling off of crop productivity, growing demand for food in India and China, and the escalating demand for biofuels. The response of tropical developing countries has, so far been generally poor, due to lack of innovation, poor organisation and lack of available resources quickly to respond to global and regional agricultural and climatic changes,” a release from the Faculty explained.

“The challenges in small island developing states are even greater due to high pressures on arable land for urban development and tourism as well as to other sustainability concerns. The UWI and its predecessor the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA) has been at the forefront of tropical agriculture research and education for some 80 years. Furthermore, the UWI has published the international journal Tropical Agriculture”… for the last 82 years and as such it is appropriate that an International Congress of this nature be staged at the UWI during its 60th Anniversary Celebrations,” the release stated in conclusion.