BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Representatives from 11 Caribbean countries have received training in the implementation of new technologies for cassava production, with the aim of improving competitiveness and promoting technological innovations and value added in cassava products.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) said the course on modern technologies for the production and use of cassava was facilitated by the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava Research and Development (CLAYUCA).

It was conducted in Colombia last month with support from Colombia’s Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

The participants came from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, Belize, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Martinique, St Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Dominica, and Grenada.

IICA, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and CLAYUCA are promoting the construction of a partnership designed to boost cassava production and processing in the Caribbean, which calls for a reliable network of leaders in each country.

“We hope this initiative will contribute to the creation of a stronger partnership among the countries. We need to generate technological innovations that improve production efficiency and promote value added,” said Humberto Gómez, a regional technological innovation specialist with IICA.