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Contact:
Chris Satney
Thursday, December 9, 2004 - The regional agricultural sector is
strengthening its ability to strategically use Information to increase
competitiveness and reposition the sector to effectively face global challenges.
A two-day conference designed to accomplish this goal took place at the Bay
Gardens recently.
The event sought to examine the issues, challenges and opportunities facing
agricultural information management and use in the Caribbean, and the
development of strategies for addressing these challenges. It provided a unique
opportunity for creators, providers and users of information to network, share
experiences and form new alliances, an aspect Minister for Agriculture Forestry
and Fisheries, Ignatius Jean thought was highly significant to the repositioning
of the agricultural sector.
“There is a need to establish the current status of our agricultural information
management and communications systems at the national and regional levels. We
also need to research existing systems making use of available and relevant ICT
tools to determine our major competitors, the strategies that they have and are
using to stay ahead”.
The Exercise was assisted by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation, (CTA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA). IICA’s Representative in the OECS, Dr. Barbara Graham said
the issue of strategy in information was closely linked to that of sustainable
development. Dr. Graham said the challenge facing the regional agricultural
sector was how to package information so it can have the desired effect.
“Is it relevant? Is it information balance? Is it sufficiently focused? Is it
results oriented? Are there mechanisms to measure whether or not there has been
any kind of response in terms of the persons who perceive this information? And
what is the response, has it moved them forward or has it kept them in the same
place”
Participants of the two-day exercise closely examined the information market and
developed strategies that would cause the regional agricultural sector to make
better use of what that market had to offer.
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