Saint Lucia draws closer to introducing more advanced ICT technology into the agriculture industry.

Under a project named Advancing ICTs for Climate Smart Agriculture Practices, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), hosted a one-day workshop to discourse ICT interventions for the sector.

The CARDI workshop, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and technical partners such as the OECS Commission and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), brought together several industry stakeholders, including students. The activity focused on market intelligence as a strategy to better manage climatic variability.

CARDI Representative in Saint Lucia, Andrea Veira, said the workshop demonstrated the value of using modern ICT in bolstering economic activity, crop production and information sharing with the sector.

Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Ezechiel Joseph, in addressing the opening ceremony of the workshop, said that stakeholder use and willingness to adopt ICT in agriculture should be encouraged, as it provides a platform for agriculture constituents to collaborate, attain up-to date market information, and find solutions to ongoing threats to the agriculture economy.

Many ICT in agriculture interventions have been developed and tested around the world to help agriculturists improve their livelihoods through increased agricultural productivity and income, or by reducing risks. In Saint Lucia, the use of ICT within the industry will work to enhance climate change initiatives for the sector, and assist with food and nutrition sustainability initiatives.