BOOSTING CO-OPERATION

Barbados and Hunan, China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agricultural co-operation.

The signing took place yesterday morning at the headquarters of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC), with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Terry Bascombe, signing on behalf of Barbados; and Wu Lan, Deputy Secretary of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, who joined the event virtually, signing on behalf of China. The event also saw the BAMC receive a donation of a new cane harvester from Chinese firm Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Company Limited.

Referring to the donation, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir, noted that it is representative of the robust relationship between Barbados and the People’s Republic of China, which dates back to 1977.

“Since then, the relationship has grown significantly, and has produced a number of co-operation initiatives. Some of these included exchanges of training opportunities, academic scholarships, medical staff deployment, as well as several infrastructural projects. Two infrastructure projects that readily come to mind, and I’m sure you will understand why, are the eagerly awaited Hope Agricultural Training Institute and the Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship at The University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus,” he noted.

His comments came as he said that the Hope Agricultural Training Institute will act as a partial training ground for students of the Barbados Community College and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, as they seek to complete their associate degrees, diplomas and certificates in agriculture programmes. He went on to say that The UWI’s Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship will seek to encourage and facilitate innovation in Caribbean agribusiness and food production, including finding new and creative uses for local and regional plants.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, Wu Lan, explained that Barbados is an important partner of China and referring to the MOU, said that it will further deepen bilateral exchanges and co-operation between the two countries.

“We sincerely hope that Barbados and Hunan will further strengthen exchanges and co-operation in agriculture, economy, trade, culture, education, tourism and other fields. So that the potential of the co-operation can be fully released as our friendship grows from strength to strength,” she said.

Adding to her comments, Ambassador of China to Barbados, Yan Xiusheng, noted that the donation marks the beginning of co-operation on agriculture between the two nations, and that the MOU represents the start of a new era of development.

Also addressing those present was Chairman of the BAMC, Winston Best, who welcomed the new harvester, noting that the aged harvesters currently in use are constantly breaking down. These disruptions, he said, result in significant downtime and puts added pressure on their limited resources. His comments came as he said that in addition to the harvester, they will receive technical support from Zoomlion through training of the BAMC’s staff in the operations and maintenance of the harvester. (JRT)