Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, Co-operatives and Fisheries on Nevis Mr. Eric Evelyn has been re-elected to serve as the Technical Secretary of the Caribbean Plant Health Directors (CPHD) Forum. The re-election took place during the CPHD’s 7th annual meeting which took place in the Cayman Islands during the period July 29 to August 1, 2014. Other members of the executive are Chair, Mr. Brian Crichlow, Assistant Director, Cayman Islands Department of Agriculture, and Co-chair, Mr. Ryan Anselm, Head of Plant Protection Quarantine Services , Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Dominica. Both Evelyn and Anselm were re-elected to their respective positions while Crichlow will serve on the executive for the first time.
The meeting brought together representatives from more than 20 Caribbean countries and territories and several partner organizations, including the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), The OECS Secretariat, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Centre for Agricultural Biosciences – International (CABI).
During the meeting, the CPHD Forum entertained intense discussions aimed at bolstering the ability of member countries to identify, exclude, and respond to pests and diseases that threaten regional agriculture and natural resources and to resolve issues that might impede the trade of Caribbean agricultural products regionally and internationally. Members also made progress on determining how regional plant protection and trade priorities of the region will be raised at meetings of international organizations that govern these activities.
In addition, the Forum endorsed a charter that formalizes the structure and function of this collaborative network of plant health officials and partner organizations.
CPHD Forum members are striving to unify plant health safeguarding strategies in the region through the exchange of technical information, the transfer of technologies and methods, and the harmonization of plant protection and agricultural trade management approaches. The efforts of this forum will strengthen plant protection and have a direct impact on the region’s food security and economic prosperity for the Greater Caribbean Region.
Mr. Evelyn who was first elected as Technical Secretary in 2012 in the British Virgin Islands will serve another two year term with the other members of the executive.