Grand Cayman – Scope for collaboration in agricultural development was one of the main items discussed by Minister of Agriculture Hon. Jay Ebanks and representatives of the Caricom Community (CARICOM) Secretariat during a virtual meeting yesterday (Monday, April 11).

In addition to Minister Ebanks, other Ministry of Agriculture representatives at the meeting were Parliamentary Secretary Isaac Rankine, Acting Chief Officer Tristan Hydes, Deputy Chief Officer Leyda Nicholson-Makasare and Senior Policy Advisor Demoy Nash. The CARICOM Secretariat team was led by Shaun Baugh, Programme Manager for Agriculture and Agro-Industry Development, Nigel Durrant, Agricultural Trade Specialist and Laurel Wickham, Administrative Assistant.

During the meeting, Minister Ebanks expressed his interest in regional cooperation to support local farmers, strengthen the Cayman Islands’ food and nutrition security and also ensure accessibility to high quality food from other sources. “The Government is committed to building the agricultural sector but to do so it is important that we deepen relationships with our neighbours and utilise the resources available through CARICOM to support a number of the agricultural projects that we have in the pipeline,” he said.

Some of the other areas discussed for cooperation were technical support, training and development and inter-regional trade.

The Cayman Islands is an associate member state of CARICOM.