The Office of the Principal, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus held the first in a series of seminars aimed at focusing attention on the future of Caribbean agriculture and food on Tuesday, March 3, 2009. This one day seminar entitled Caribbean Agriculture and Food in a Changing Global Context brought together academics and stakeholders from the agriculture and food sector and provided an opportunity for researchers at the University and other academic institutions to discuss relevant and current research related to the present agricultural challenges facing Jamaica and the region.

Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of the Mona Campus, Professor Gordon Shirley in his opening remarks observed that a further objective of the seminar was to help participants understand the impediments to the growth in agriculture in Jamaica and the region as a whole and to find appropriate solutions at both the policy and technical levels for the way forward. He noted that another larger conference again focusing on agriculture and food would be held later in the year which would articulate how the university and the other tertiary sectors would assist in this process.

Guest speakers at the seminar were Dr. the Honourable Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture and Professor David Sparling, Associate Professor and Dean, College of Management and Economics, University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Tufton in his address gave an overview of The Current and Future Plans of the Government of Jamaica for Agriculture while Professor Sparling spoke on The Changing Agri-food Environment: Implications for Caribbean Agriculture and Agri-food Education.

Presentations at the seminar focused on topics including: Challenges and Opportunities in the Agricultural Sector; Science, Technology and Innovation in Caribbean Agriculture and Food; The Social Dimensions of Caribbean Agriculture and Food and the Educational, Training and Developmental Needs of Agriculture and Food Industries.