August 2024

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 discussed a partnership 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 partnership will provide for the commencement of scaled trials using bio-stimulants from Sargassum on various crops in farmers’ fields starting in Trinidad and Tobago.

This partnership 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.

In the photo from left are Mr. Joe Pires, Managing Director of Caribbean Chemicals & Agencies Ltd; Mr. Jason Dunn, Commercialization Manager of Plant & Food Research, New Zealand; CPSO Consultant, Dr. Arlington Chesney; and CPSO CEO and Technical Director, Dr. Patrick Antoine.

The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) is today commending the relief response by the regional private sector as support continues to pour in for the CARICOM States of Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica which were impacted by the passage of Hurricane Beryl. The ongoing response effort has already resulted in several shipments with critical relief and aid provisions from the private sector leaving Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Lucia, Dominica, and other countries.

Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director of the CPSO, Dr Patrick Antoine, in a review of ongoing efforts, lauded the overwhelming response of the regional private sector.

Dr. Antoine, in an update to a virtual meeting of the Caribbean Development Partners Group (CDPG) hosted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) earlier this week, stated, “The support we have been able to muster across CARICOM has been important. Everyone has been onboard and working seamlessly in solidarity, and the aid provided to date has been critical. This support will continue to be critical in the coming days as emergency response organizations assess and update the needs requirements for the impacted countries. We urge the private sector to continue for as long as possible to help our brothers and sisters across the Region recover and rebuild.”

The collaboration by the private sector across the Region speaks volumes to what can be accomplished when resources are joined toward a common cause. By working together, the private sector has shown the strength and resourcefulness of ‘the collective’. This spirit of collaboration will auger well for advancing the collaboration and cooperation on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The CPSO continues to partner in the relief and recovery response with CDEMA, Governments, and regional and national Business Support Organizations (BSOs).

ABOUT THE CPSO
The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) is the most recently accredited Associate Institution of the Caribbean Community. The CPSO is a ‘Service Organization’ to mobilize and advance private sector participation in CARICOM, with a mandate to contribute to the full implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The Membership of the CPSO is comprised of private sector entities operating in the CARICOM space, including Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

For further information, please contact the CPSO Secretariat at: info@thecpso.org