EU Support for Rural Women In Agri-business

Agro-processing expert, Sandra Greenridge, is a member of the Network of Rural Women Producers of Trinidad and Tobago (NRWPTT), a vibrant group of leading local agro-processors piloted by Gia Gaspard-Taylor. Through her membership with the stalwart women’s group, she is also one of the stakeholders targeted for the Agricultural Policy Programme (APP), a regional programme partly aimed at ensuring that small producers/entrepreneurs in CARIFORUM countries (particularly women and youth) are more effectively integrated into national, regional and international markets. The programme is funded by the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) and executed through the European Commission (EC) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) in conjunction with other implementing partners — Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Caricom Secretariat. Through its three-pronged approach to agricultural development (proactive regional policy and strategy development, innovative technology/research for targeted agricultural commodities and development of enterprise/market linkages for regional agri-business), the APP is but another manifestation of the European Union’s (EU) unwavering commitment to agricultural development in the Caribbean.

In essence, it is expected that through the APP, Greenridge and her rural food compatriots will soon reap the fruits of a more stakeholder-friendly agricultural environment with appropriate and effective regional policy coordination and a business climate conducive for growth and sustainability within the regional food sector. In the near future, who knows? Greenridge may very well add some new exciting products to her line, perhaps chocolate coated beetroot?

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150626/woman-magazine/eu-support-for-r…