CABI helping region fight poverty

OVER the last 100 years CABI’s work has helped to make significant contributions in the fight against poverty.

That is according to the CABI’s Executive Director, International Development, Dennis Rangi, as he spoke at the Americas and Caribbean Member Country Consultation at the Amaryllis Beach Hotel in Barbados last week Wednesday.

Barbados’ Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture,
Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Michael King
(left) and CABI’s Executive Director, International Development,
Dennis Rangi, at last week Wednesday’s consultation.

Some of the participants in attendance at last week
Wednesday's consultation for the Centre for Agricultural
Bioscience International (CABI).

“CABI is an international, intergovernmental, not-for-profit organisation that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. CABI originated in 1910, which means that we have now turned 103 years old, and are still growing stronger... The impact of our work is global and it ranges from working directly with farmers to providing innovative solutions at the higher level in industry,” he said.

With that in mind, Rangi said that since its establishment, CABI has been behind the identification of various significant disease-causing pests leading to the development of pest management programmes across the world, including resistant crop varieties.

“This region has also been quite instrumental in our exploration for biological control agents and facilitating the supply of the same to other developing member countries. And there have been some spectacular successes; for example, against the sugar cane stem borer, coconut whitefly and the pink hibiscus mealybug to mention but some,” he said.

Rangi added, “Given our intergovernmental status, CABI develops its programmes in close consultation with its member countries through the Review Conference, which is CABI’s supreme governing body, and Regional Consultations such as this one. We are hoping to identify ways of working with you to support member countries in the region in their quest to address the challenge of food security.”

He said that they will review the progress made in addressing the priority areas identified during previous consultations; identify the key emerging issues influencing and impacting on sustainable development nationally and regionally; share country experiences; and develop regional plans, identify synergies and agree ways of working together. (JRT)