A delegation from the Republic of Cuba is conducting a technical cooperation mission to Dominica from April 25- May 5, 2023, to undertake
assessments of the island’s agricultural sector and provide technical advice. The delegation is led by Cuba’s Deputy Minister for Agriculture – San Loys Martinez Diosnel, accompanied by three (3) technical specialists from Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The Governments of Dominica and the Republic of Cuba, on August 22, 2022, entered a five (5) year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate consultation and coordination for strengthening technical cooperation on agriculture between both countries. The MOU was signed following discussions held during an official visit to Cuba led by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit in April 2022.
While here, the specialists are meeting with representatives of technical missions including the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD), and the SAC Agriculture Center.
Field visits are planned to the Central Livestock Farm, Londonderry Tissue Culture Hardening Facility, Woodfordhill Agriculture Station, and the Chinese Technical Mission in Portsmouth; as well as to cassava production facilities, farms, and hydroponic and aquaculture enterprises.
The technical mission aligns with the Government of Dominica’s goals to increase the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to $700 million by 2030; and establish networks and forge alliances among multiple state actors, producers, processors, fishers, aggregators, and bilateral partners to strategically plan, redesign and execute a transformative agenda for optimal performance in the agricultural sector.
Over the past decades, the Republic of Cuba has provided direct support to the Commonwealth of Dominica, particularly in the education and health sectors, along with training agricultural technicians in the fields of veterinary medicine, agronomy, and economics.