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Last Updated: Jun 20, 2018 - 3:13:28 PM |
Pictured, front row, left to right: Dellareese Grant, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources; Gregory Rahming, Acting Director of Agriculture; Phedra M. Rahming, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources; Diwakar Dixit, WTO Representative and Facilitator; Keva Bain, Director of Trade; Brickel Pinder, Chief Economist, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, and participants from the Dept. of Customs, Agriculture, Office of the Attorney General, and Dept. of Cooperatives. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)
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A National Seminar on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture is currently underway, June 19-21, at BAIC Training Centre, with the objective of improving understanding of the provisions of the Agreement for technical officers within Department of Agriculture and other key agencies within the public service, like the Office of the Attorney General. The seminar is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Phedra Rahming, welcomed the participants at the opening ceremony on Tuesday, and WTO representative, Diwakar Dixit provided information and addressed concerns of the participants. PS Rahming noted the issues of food security and development of the rural communities are important to her Ministry and, as such, ways in which those objectives could be achieved within the framework of the Agreement on Agriculture.
World Trade Organization - Remarks By The Permanent Secretary
Ms. Keva Bain, Director of Trade
Mr. Shane Mille, Assistant Director, Attorney General’s Office
Mr. Gregory Rahming, Acting Director of Agriculture
Mr. Diwakar Dixit, World Trade Organization
Participants:
Good morning.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources is pleased to host this ‘National Seminar on the Agreement on Agriculture’ which is intended to improve the understanding of technical officers within the Department of Agriculture and other key agencies within the public service, like the Office of the Attorney General, on its provisions.
The Government has stated that the process of acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a policy priority. My ministry has sought to work closely with the Ministry of Financial Services to ensure that the agriculture and fisheries sectors, which will be affected by this process, are well-informed of the impacts at the policy and sectoral levels. At the policy level, we have established an inter-ministerial group to meet weekly to discuss issues arising from the accession process. Moreover, we have also sought to re-engage both the agriculture and fisheries sectors through their respective advisory committees on a range of policy issues including the accession process.
There are several WTO agreements which directly impact the agricultural sector including the Agreement on Agriculture, Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the Agreement on Import Licensing, and the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights. The complex interactions of these agreements, has indicated the need for well-informed technical officers throughout the public service. Additionally, current negotiations in the WTO on fisheries subsidies suggest that disciplines in this area may be forthcoming in the future.
At the operational level, my ministry has completed the process of selecting the executive team to head The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) which was established to meet our obligations under the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. I am pleased to report the commitment of my ministry to the success of this organization which will have an increase in budget allocation from $500,000 in 2016/2017 to $700,00in the 2017/2018 budget.
The issues of food security and development of the rural communities are important to my ministry. I am therefore anxious to learn from you how these objectives can be realized within the framework of the Agreement on Agriculture.
I am therefore very pleased to welcome to The Bahamas, Mr. Diwakar Dixit to facilitate this training exercise on the Agreement on Agriculture. Sir I trust that during your brief stay with us you will have an opportunity to enjoy the beauty and hospitality of our country. I welcome you, the participants to this training event. While I would like to be present for the sessions, I must take my leave after the break. I therefore look forward to receiving the report on the outcome on this event.
On behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Hon. Renward Wells, I extend best wishes to you, for a productive seminar.
Thank you.
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