Dr Harris said that “St Kitts and Nevis wants to ensure that the regional work programme of FAO prioritizes issues of concern to our Caribbean and CARICOM Member States in particular.  We shall focus on food security and nutrition security and investment in agriculture particularly at the level of the family farms typical of our experience here in St Kitts and Nevis.

Dr Harris continued “sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures in particular technical assistance in plant and animal quarantine systems and capacity building in these services are very important to us in the Caribbean in the context of lethal yellowing affecting our palms and bud rot diseases in our region.

Climate change and risk management will also be discussed given our vulnerability. In sum our aim at this meeting is to leverage FAO’s support for the region in such a way that the widest benefit and efficacious outcomes may accrue to CARICOM of which St Kitts and Nevis holds membership”.

The Conference is the highest governing body and forum of the FAO in the Latin American region.  Meetings are held biannually.

According to FAO reports, currently about 1 billion people suffer hunger in the world.  The agency has said that to prevent this number from growing, food production and should increase 70% by 2050.