Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director of the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO), Dr. Patrick Antoine, on July 16th, 2024, chaired a high-level meeting between Mr. Jason Dunn, Commercialization Manager of Plant & Food Research (PFR), New Zealand, and Mr. Joe Pires, Managing Director of Caribbean Chemicals & Agencies Ltd, a leading Caribbean supplier of agricultural inputs, headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.
The meeting hammered out a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide for the processing of Sargassum into key agricultural inputs, bio-stimulants, and compost that could significantly enhance crop productivity. Sargassum poses a threat to the marine life, tourism, and well-being of virtually all Caribbean countries. This MoU will provide for the commencement of scaled trials using bio-stimulants from Sargassum on various crops in farmers’ fields starting in Trinidad and Tobago. It will also pave the way for a pilot processing facility for biofuels to be located in a CARICOM Member State.
The MoU between PFR and Caribbean Chemicals builds on a previously signed MoU between the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the CPSO, which aims at fostering collaboration among regional public and private sector institutions in providing solutions which can be ‘scaled up’ in solving critical agricultural development challenges for CARICOM.
The CPSO’s role in this coalition was to successfully secure a credible, experienced and respected commercial partner with presence across the Community, and to coordinate the legal and other aspects of the collaboration among the parties.