NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 05, 2025) – A delegation from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) recently visited Nevis, expressing admiration for the island’s strides in agricultural development.
The delegation, comprised of Director of Technical Cooperation Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim; Dr. Curt Delice, Special Affairs Co-ordinator for the Caribbean; and Eastern Caribbean Representative Gregg Rollins, paid a courtesy call on Minister of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), Deputy Premier the Honourable Eric Evelyn, on January 28, 2025.
Minister Evelyn welcomed the IICA delegation on the inaugural visit and emphasized the importance of collaboration in advancing Nevis’ agricultural sector.
“We were delighted to welcome the delegation from our partner IICA as Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Delice were in St. Kitts and Nevis for the very first time. They were on a learning visit, and we had an excellent meeting.
“We discussed what we are doing here on the island of Nevis where agriculture is concerned, some of what we have done, some of our accomplishments, and how we can move forward in terms of more collaboration and assistance from IICA.”
Minister Evelyn highlighted the technical expertise IICA offers that has proven over the years to be very beneficial to the island of Nevis.
“We know they have a lot of technical expertise that we can rely on in terms of moving the agriculture industry forward here on the island of Nevis, and so I took the opportunity on behalf of the Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, on behalf of the people of Nevis, to especially welcome the IICA delegation to the island of Nevis. We’re very confident that the meeting we had will continue to bear fruit and we will continue to see more collaboration, more assistance coming from IICA.”
Dr. Ibrahim remarked, “We are very impressed to see the advances they are making towards food security, nutrition, and sustainability of some of the important crops like lettuce, and what you’re producing with eggs and poultry. The plans that the Ministry has in terms of advancing towards the 25 by 2025 initiative are commendable.”
Dr. Ibrahim also noted areas for improvement, such as sweet potato production and small ruminant farming, and pledged IICA’s continued support.
“IICA as an institution has a mandate to provide technical cooperation, and we are here committed to working together with the Ministry to identify what the demands are, how we prioritize them, and work together towards advancing a plan that aligns with the policies in agriculture.”
During their visit to Nevis they engaged with persons working in various areas of the agriculture sector and visited the Indian Castle Fruit Orchard.
Dr. Ibrahim said IICA will continue to collaborate with Nevis “to develop a plan to enhance the sustainability of its agriculture systems over the next three years.”
Also present at the meeting were St. Kitts and Nevis Representative for IICA, Sharon Jones, and Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Rhosyll Gaskell.
The visit reaffirmed IICA’s commitment to supporting Nevis’ agricultural sector and strengthening regional collaboration to enhance food security and sustainability. Minister Evelyn expressed confidence that Nevis Island Administration’s focus on food production and food sovereignty will propel the island towards achieving CARICOM’s initiative to reduce food imports into the region by 25 percent by 2025.