Jagdeo wants greater priority for region’s agriculture

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday called on Caricom leaders to do much more to deal with the declining agricultural production of the region, as well as to curb the impact of climate change.
Addressing the launch of the Faculties of Food and Agriculture and Science and Technology at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies, Jagdeo, after whom a regional agricultural plan was named, said in only three Caricom countries have agriculture contributed more than 10 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP

“There isn’t a sense of urgency and that is what we need today, a sense of urgency among our policy makers. Maybe we should have term limits for the entire Caribbean. And then policymakers may know that you only have a small period to achieve what you want to,” said Jagdeo. The former President said the region was also not meeting the international requirements to deal with the issue of climate change and that regional leaders have not done what is required to address the issue. “We have been struggling in Caricom to get this issue on the agenda for ages and for our leaders to pay attention to the existential threat that it poses for our region and the threat that it poses for our way of life and social welfare and economic development.