FAO calls for faster action and new finance opportunities for small producers as Caribbean Week of Agriculture gets under way

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) highlighted the need for faster action to strengthen agricultural ecosystems and expand tailored credit access for small producers at the 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA 2026) under way at Ocean Coral Spring in Trelawny, Jamaica.   

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony on 27 September 2026, Rene Orellana Halkyer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, framed the gathering as a key opportunity for agrifood system transformation. Addressing ministers and delegates, Mr. Halkyer highlighted that the 20th edition is not only a milestone but a call to move faster, together, from commitment to implementation.  

Held under the theme “The New F.A.C.E of Caribbean Food Systems,” CWA 2026 brings together 11 ministers of agriculture, CARICOM officials, development partners, farmers, fisherfolk, youth, and private sector representatives from over 40 countries through 2 October.  

Advancing subregional production and resilience 

Orellana Halyker noted that the regional commitment to the “25 by 2025+5” agenda provides vital momentum to reduce food import dependency and strengthen climate resilience. He cited tangible progress across CARICOM Member States in digital tools, soil analysis, crop and pest management, traceability and certification, alongside water-efficient production, climate adaptation technologies and protected cultivation in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  

Closing the finance gap for small producers 

On 28 September 2026, Mr. Halkyer joined a ministerial panel titled “Achieving the Region’s Vision 25 by 2025 + 5: The Roadmap for Regional Food Security and Food Systems Transformation.” The panel featured Ministers of Agriculture Honourable Lisa C. Jawahir of Saint Lucia, Honourable Floyd Green of Jamaica, Honourable Rodwell Ferguson of Belize, and Honourable Shantal Munro-Knight of Barbados, alongside Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 
 
Echoing the call from ministers on the panel to move “From Rhetoric to Action”, he stated that with traditional grant finance decreasing significantly, closing the financing gap is now one of the most important roles for organizations such as FAO. 

“This new historical context demands that we work as mobilizers of financial resources from the multilateral banks, in alliance with the commercial banks,” he said. 

With governments facing limited fiscal space, Orellana Halkyer noted that multilateral and commercial banks can channel resources from their private windows into agricultural value chains, including small producers, their associations and cooperatives. He urged the region to strengthen its microfinance institutions and cooperatives, and pointed to investment opportunities in irrigation technology, livestock, and cold-chain logistics. 

He also highlighted tourism as a distinct Caribbean advantage, one that can drive local food production while creating jobs for local communities. 

Orellana Halkyer explained that Jamaica’s national agriculture plan points clearly towards strengthening markets for producers and noted that the upcoming ADAPT Jamaica project with the Green Climate Fund, valued at USD 50 million, will include a credit component for small producers. 

“These kinds of concrete things are what we have to do at this particular moment, in which we have to strengthen the private sector, the community sector and the cooperative sector,” he said.