Stronger Collaboration for FAO and Trinidad and Tobago with Signing of New Country Framework

Trinidad and Tobago has signed the FAO Country Programme Framework for 2023-2026, signaling a renewed commitment to collaboration and technical cooperation on food systems and sustainable development.

The signing took place on Thursday, August 15, 2024 at the Queen's Park Savannah. 

Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean of FAO, Mario Lubetkin, signed the Framework alongside Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Honourable Kazim Hosein. Mr. Lubetkin was visiting Trinidad and Tobago as part of his working tour in the Caribbean to consolidate technical cooperation ties with the sub-region.  
 

Also attending the milestone event were Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Avinash Singh; Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Nela Dwarika-Ali; UN Resident Coordinator, Joanna Kazana; and FAO Representative ad interim for Trinidad and Tobago, Gillian Smith.

In his remarks Minister Avinash Singh thanked FAO for the strong collaboration and reiterated his government's commitment to transforming food systems to support more youth involvement.

The Framework is a strategic plan that establishes common priorities and defines the actions that FAO and Government will undertake to achieve significant results for the Trinidad and Tobago population by managing more efficient, inclusive and resilient agri-food systems.  

FAO will support Trinidad and Tobago in promoting the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices, enhancing biodiversity conservation, and supporting sustainable land management through projects focused on anticipatory actions, livelihood recovery, and climate-adapted agricultural practices. In addition, FAO will provide technical assistance to Trinidad and Tobago Central Statistical Office to analyse the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) data.
 

Mr. Lubetkin underscored that Trinidad and Tobago is a country of priority attention for the FAO cooperation agenda in the Caribbean and Latin America. 

“FAO's focus in the country is achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which demands transforming agri-food systems for a better life for all. FAO will support policies and strategies for food system transformation, integrating agriculture, sustainable livestock, forestry, fisheries, animal health, and land-use sustainability, while promoting youth and women inclusion”.  

Mrs. Kazana said sustainable food systems are key to driving progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, making Trinidad and Tobago's commitment to deepening its partnership with FAO particularly important.

"This country is a perfect example of the complex set of relationships between food security and agriculture, health, the environment, social equity, climate and trade. These dynamics demonstrate clearly why food systems are at the heart of the UN Secretary-General’s priority areas for SDG acceleration, and why this three-year plan from FAO comes at a crucial time in the push to make Agenda 2030 a reality.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that recently formalised Country Programming Frameworks. 

After the signing ceremony, the Assistant Director-General and FAO Representative ad interim in the country held extensive bilateral discussions led by Minister Singh and high-level technical team of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries.

As part of Mr. Lubetkin's official mission to Trinidad and Tobago, the FAO team and the Resident Coordinator also enjoyed a visit to the UWI St. Augustine Cocoa Research Centre in Mt Hope on Friday, August 16, 2024. On a tour of the facility, the UN team learned about the research and development efforts to grow different varieties of cocoa. They were also treated to a chocolate tasting. The visit coincided with FAO's support to Trinidad and Tobago on the One Country, One Priority initiative, which focuses on cocoa production and export.