Ministers of Agriculture of Central America and Dominican Republic meet to discuss regional agriculture issues

BELMOPAN. December 5, 2014. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture
(MNRA) in its capacity as President Pro-Temp of the Central American Agriculture Council (CAC) hosted the OIRSA-CIRSA Meeting on the 4th December and the final meeting of the Agriculture Council of Ministers on the 5th of December, 2014 in Placencia, Belize. Panama currently holds the Presidency of CIRSA but agreed to the Belize initiative to combine meetings in an effort to save cost, improve coordination and increase effective participation.
On the 4th December 2014, the Hon. Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture welcomed the delegates and officially opened the LVII Extraordinary Meeting of the International Regional Organization for Health in Agriculture (CIRSA). During this meeting, main points discussed included the approval of the OIRSA strategic plan for the period 2015 to 2025, and the modification of the work plan for 2014 and 2015 to cater to the changes required by the member countries. One major achievement of this meeting was the presentation and approval of regulations to govern the management of the organization in an effort to make it more efficient and transparent. Additionally, at the start of the event, a cooperation agreement between OIRSA and the Inter American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) was signed to further strengthen collaboration between these two key regional bodies.
On day two of the event, ministers actively engaged in discussions relevant to the Central American Agriculture Council. At this session, the ministers reviewed the accomplishments of the council, especially those relating to the establishment of the Agriculture Health and Food Safety Working Group which was formed during Belize’s Presidency. The progress of the other working groups was also presented and project funding requests were finalized for presentation to the Republic of China (Taiwan) and other collaborating partners. Governments were urged to make greater use of an excellent scholarship programme in the field of agriculture and food production offered by the Mexican Government.
The Central American Agriculture Council (CAC) is composed of the Ministers of Agriculture of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic. This is Belize’s final meeting in its capacity as President Pro Temp of the Council before Guatemala assumes the Presidency.