UWI Open Campus Dominica to hold country conference

The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus, Dominica, will hold its Country Conference this year, under the theme “Ensuring Sustainability through Food and Nutrition Security and Resilience in the Nature Isle.”

Officer-in-Charge, Kimone Joseph, said at the launch of the conference last week, that it will focus on agriculture and food security.

“When we began planning for the Dominica Country Conference last May, the Steering Committee was clear on developing a theme that would be based on agriculture and food security,” she said. “After all, Agriculture has played an important role in both the economy and social life of Dominica.”

She highlighted challenges to the island’s aim of moving fully into organic farming practices.

“…the significant reduction in agricultural output in the last twenty-five years coupled with the increase in the country’s import bill, which currently stands at over $100 million, as well as infestations of pests and diseases have significantly dampened plans for reaching our targets and have adversely affected every sector of the country from health to environment to social services,” she explained.

It is expected that Dominica will reach that goal in 2020.

Joseph said if this is achieved, Dominica would serve as an example that healthy lifestyles and the consumption of responsibly produced local foods are crucial options for sustainability in the twenty-first century.

“It is important to note that if this situation continues, the country’s food supply, the health of its people and its hopes of national development could be severely compromised in less than ten years,” she cautioned.

Almost thirty (30) researchers, in and out of Dominica, responded to the university’s Call for Papers related to the various aspects of the theme.  Twenty-two (22) of the papers were chosen to be part of the Country Conference.

According to Joseph, the response was noted as one of the most successful Call for Papers of any of the Country Conferences in the Open Campus sites.

This conference will seek to provide a forum for the presentation of the research and for discussion and action. It will be held on the 19th and 20th of May, 2016 at UWI Open Campus Dominica on Elmshall Hall Road.

The Dominica Agricultural Industrial and Development (AID) Bank, Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM), National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD) and Dominica Brewery & Beverages Ltd. were named as main sponsors of the event.