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  • Three cows perish “excellent” forecast for majority of others

    Three cows perish “excellent” forecast for majority of others

    On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, a senior official from Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture pushed back on opposition misinformation surrounding the transport of 1,000 pregnant Brazilian heifers imported to boost the South American nation’s domestic beef and milk production, confirming only three animals died en route to the Ebini research station in East Bank Berbice.

    Dwight Walrond, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), told local outlet Demerara Waves Online News that the latest on-the-ground report from his team recorded just three mortalities, contradicting a claim from main opposition party We Invest in Nation (WIN) that as many as 15 heifers had died. Walrond added that while four other animals were experiencing significant cramping, and one remained severely distressed as of Tuesday morning, most of the remaining imported cattle are in stable condition. The mortality count, he emphasized, falls well below the 5% acceptable benchmark for long-distance cattle transport – a journey that covered more than 1,000 kilometers from Brazil’s Roraima State to the Ebini facility.

    Walrond expressed cautious optimism that the four animals experiencing cramps will recover, noting that a humane decision will be made to euthanize the severely distressed heifer if its condition does not improve. Per the procurement agreement, any animals lost during the journey will be replaced at no additional cost to Guyana by the Brazilian supplier, with each heifer originally valued at GY$245,000. As for the surviving herd, Walrond reported that most have already acclimated to their new location: “Those animals are already running around in the pastures. They are feeding and they’re resting. They were drinking water last Monday night.”

    The GLDA CEO openly acknowledged one planning misstep that delayed the journey: the team failed to account for Berbice River tidal flows, which slowed the crossing of the herd even with three pontoons available. “I would say that we dropped the ball with respect to the tide. That was something that no consideration was given to,” Walrond admitted.

    The imported heifers are part of a long-term government initiative to grow Guyana’s national cattle herd and expand livestock output. Officials project each mature heifer will produce one calf per year, with low-performing animals culled and high-yielding individuals retained to grow the national herd. The tropical Brazilian breed was specifically selected for its proven resilience to Guyana’s wet and dry seasonal cycles, as well as its natural resistance to ticks and tick-borne diseases that commonly impact local cattle.

    Walrond also addressed public concern over social media claims that some of the 14- to 26-week-old heifers appeared underweight. He explained that reduced forage rations during transport were an intentional, precautionary veterinary measure, not a sign of neglect or poor care. As long-distance transport experts and an experienced veterinarian himself, Walrond noted that overfeeding ruminant animals during multi-day journeys leads to life-threatening complications including bowel impaction, rumen dysfunction, excess bloating, and severe diarrhea. Restricted forage intake keeps animals hydrated and nutrient-stable without putting their digestive systems at risk. “When you have animals being transported on these long distances for so long, this is not something that is outside of the norm but within the next few days when you see those animals, you won’t even recognise them,” he said.

    Finally, Walrond refuted opposition speculation that the herd was originally meant for a private farm along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, and only diverted to Ebini after opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed publicly posted about the cattle’s arrival from Brazil. He confirmed that the official inter-regional transport permit clearly routed the herd through Lethem, Linden, and the bauxite mines directly to Ebini, with no plan to stop or rehome the cattle along the highway. “There was no need for them to come to Linden whatsoever,” he added.

  • Walker says Antigua and Barbuda ‘Has No Cards’ in US Negotiations

    Walker says Antigua and Barbuda ‘Has No Cards’ in US Negotiations

    During a Tuesday parliamentary debate centered on a resolution outlining negotiating principles for talks with Washington, Member of Parliament for Barbuda Trevor Walker has delivered sharp criticism of the Antigua and Barbuda government’s approach to potential negotiations with the United States over the transfer of third-country nationals. Walker argued that the Browne administration is entering discussions from a fundamentally disadvantaged position, stripped of meaningful bargaining leverage due to long-standing stringent U.S. visa restrictions that already impact the Caribbean nation.

    In stark, plain-spoken remarks to the chamber, Walker emphasized, “I want Antiguans and Barbudans to hear me. Antigua and Barbuda don’t have no cards. You have no cards.” While he stopped short of rejecting negotiation outright, he pressed the government to outline exactly what reciprocal concessions it intends to secure in exchange for cooperating with U.S. demands, arguing that this call for clarity is a completely reasonable request.

    Walker stressed that this high-stakes issue should not be weaponized for partisan political gain, noting that any final agreement reached with the United States will shape the lives of all citizens across Antigua and Barbuda, regardless of political affiliation. “This matter ought not to be partisan and political because it will affect all of us,” he said.

    The MP pointed to the already strict U.S. travel constraints placed on Antiguans and Barbudans as evidence of the government’s weak hand, noting that citizens are currently limited to maximum 30-day stays in the United States. He shared his own recent personal experience clearing U.S. immigration, where an officer explicitly reminded him of the 30-day rule despite Walker’s plan to stay just four days for his trip.

    Walker further demanded that Prime Minister Gaston Browne publicly explain how Antigua and Barbuda arrived at what he called one of the most strained periods in bilateral relations with the U.S. “The Prime Minister of this country has an obligation … to let Antiguans and Barbudans understand why Antigua and Barbuda at this time is placed in a position where things are almost at the highest element of hardship when it comes to United States travel restrictions,” he said.

    To contextualize the current strain, Walker drew a contrast to relations in the mid-2000s, when then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice publicly commended Antigua and Barbuda for passing national legislation focused on boosting government accountability and transparency. He raised pointed questions about whether the recent deterioration of ties is connected to international scrutiny of the country’s popular Citizenship by Investment Programme, arguing that the public is owed a full public accounting if that is the case.

    Beyond criticizing the national government’s approach, Walker also took aim at regional leadership through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), faulting bloc leaders for failing to agree on a unified regional stance on the third-country national transfer issue. He argued that small island developing states across the Caribbean would hold far more bargaining power if they negotiated as a collective bloc rather than individually. “These guys cannot sit down and come up with a common position so that this issue can be dealt with,” Walker said, urging both the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the broader CARICOM community to align on a coordinated approach moving forward.

    Walker also called on the government to conduct widespread public consultations before finalizing any agreement with Washington. He argued that key national stakeholders including the Antigua and Barbuda Bar Association, the national Chamber of Commerce, and wider civil society groups should be engaged early to build a broad national consensus on the terms of any deal. Greater transparency around the negotiations, he added, would help the general public fully understand the far-reaching implications of any arrangement struck with the U.S.

    Closing his remarks to parliament, Walker laid out non-negotiable priorities that any final decision must uphold: the government must protect Antigua and Barbuda’s core economic interests, most notably the critical tourism sector, while also preserving the ability of ordinary citizens to travel, study, and conduct business in the United States. “Our access to the United States, to do business, to go to school … and also the whole question of our economic survival, which is tourism, all those things must be taken into consideration,” he emphasized.

  • For Women in Science 2026, call for applications opens

    For Women in Science 2026, call for applications opens

    A new opportunity has opened for early-career women scientists across the Caribbean, as L’Oréal Caribe and the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean have officially launched the 2026 application round for the regional L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme. This long-running initiative is designed to elevate and support outstanding female researchers in the region, offering two individual grants worth $15,000 each to fuel the advancement of cutting-edge scientific work.

    The application window for the 2026 cohort runs from May 19 to August 14, 2026. Eligible candidates include women scientists based in the Caribbean who are currently enrolled in doctoral research programs, completing postdoctoral work, or in the early stages of their professional scientific careers, across all STEM fields approved under the programme’s framework. On the regional level, the initiative is implemented in partnership with two key regional scientific bodies: the Caribbean Academy of Sciences and the Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

    This regional programme forms a core part of the global L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science movement, a decades-old effort founded with the core mission of expanding women’s participation in scientific research and narrowing the persistent gender gap that remains entrenched in STEM sectors worldwide.

    Liana Camacho, Market Vice President of L’Oréal Caribe, emphasized the fundamental value of women’s contribution to global scientific progress. “At L’Oréal Caribe, we firmly believe that science needs the talent, creativity, and leadership of women to address the challenges of today and the future,” Camacho stated. “Through For Women in Science, we seek to increase the visibility of and support women researchers who are generating knowledge and innovation with an impact on our region and the world.”

    To qualify, applicants must be conducting research in one of the programme’s approved fields, which include formal sciences, life and environmental sciences, materials science, engineering, and technological sciences. Beyond providing direct financial support, the awards recognize women researchers working to advance scientific knowledge across disciplines, whose work directly targets solutions to some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges facing the Caribbean region.

    Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, reaffirmed the UN body’s commitment to breaking down systemic barriers for women in STEM. “UNESCO works to recognise and promote the talent of women in science, foster diverse perspectives, and break down the barriers that limit their professional development,” Azoulay said.

    The 2025 edition of the programme offered a clear illustration of the transformative impact of this support, honoring two Jamaican researchers: Dr Lori-Ann Fisher and Dr Arianne Brown Jordan, whose work addresses critical regional health and environmental challenges. Dr Fisher’s research explores the genetic underpinnings of liver diseases, while Dr Brown Jordan investigates the prevalence of waterborne bacterial diseases in distribution systems that serve low-income, vulnerable communities. The work of both 2025 awardees highlights the outsized contribution that Caribbean women scientists make to developing context-specific solutions for the region’s most pressing needs.

    Despite incremental progress in recent decades, gender disparity remains a persistent challenge across the global scientific landscape. UNESCO data shows that women make up only roughly one-third of all researchers worldwide. While Latin America and the Caribbean boast a higher share of women in scientific careers than the global average, major gaps remain in access to research funding, professional visibility, and leadership opportunities for women in the sector.

    Interested eligible candidates can access full eligibility guidelines and submit their applications via the official For Women in Science application portal at https://www.forwomeninscience.com/challenge/show/167. All applications must be submitted no later than the August 14, 2026 deadline.

  • Antigua wants about US$75,000 Per Migrant in US Talks, Citing Higher Cost of Living

    Antigua wants about US$75,000 Per Migrant in US Talks, Citing Higher Cost of Living

    Antigua and Barbuda is pushing for a rate of up to US$75,000 in financial support for every third-country national it accepts under a proposed migrant resettlement arrangement with the United States, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed. Speaking in the country’s Parliament this Tuesday ahead of tabling a negotiation framework resolution, Browne made clear that the Caribbean nation’s unique economic context – marked by among the highest living and housing costs in the region – demands greater compensation than other partner states have secured for similar agreements.

    Browne told assembled lawmakers that existing resettlement deals between the US and other participating nations have offered between US$25,000 and US$50,000 per individual resettled. But he has already communicated to US negotiators that this range does not align with Antigua and Barbuda’s on-the-ground costs. “I said to them Antigua and Barbuda is an expensive country, so we may want to consider about US$75,000 each,” Browne stated.

    The prime minister emphasized that the requested rate is not arbitrary, but directly tied to the actual cost of housing and supporting resettled people in the country. Even low-quality, dilapidated rental properties carry a monthly price tag of roughly US$500, Browne explained, while housing that meets the minimum acceptable standards comparable to accommodations in the United States costs a minimum of US$2,000 per month. These stark cost differences, he argued, must be centered as talks move forward.

    Tuesday’s resolution before Parliament does not seek approval for finalized financial terms, but rather a guiding framework that empowers the national Cabinet to continue negotiations while upholding Antigua and Barbuda’s core interests. “The Cabinet must have the leverage to negotiate a sensible agreement,” Browne said, noting that negotiators will formalize their position on fair financial compensation before presenting it to US counterparts.

    In a key guardrail for the small island nation, Browne stressed that no final agreement will be signed until funding terms are settled and documented in writing. This precondition ensures that the financial burden of resettling third-country nationals will never fall on Antigua and Barbuda’s public finances. The prime minister reaffirmed the government’s openness to collaboration with the United States, but made clear that any final arrangement must prioritize the country’s economic realities and protect national interests above all else.

  • OP-ED: Guyana’s candidate for top UN post receives backing of Caribbean leaders

    OP-ED: Guyana’s candidate for top UN post receives backing of Caribbean leaders

    Leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have closed ranks behind Guyana’s nominee Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett for the 10th United Nations Secretary-General position, but internal divisions within the regional bloc have cast uncertainty over a unified regional front for the high-profile global role, as small Caribbean nations brace for outsized geopolitical impacts from the race’s outcome.

    The endorsement came at CARICOM’s 51st regular heads of government summit, where regional leaders formally backed Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy in an official communiqué. Nominated by Guyana on June 15, 2026, her selection as the bloc’s consensus candidate marks a major diplomatic win for the South American Caribbean nation.

    Rodrigues-Birkett’s three-part policy vision, which she laid out to attending leaders at the summit, won widespread support across the bloc. Her agenda is anchored in upholding the core principles laid out in the UN Charter, reforming the body’s institutional structures to boost agility, accountability and effectiveness amid a rapidly shifting global order, and uniting member states around renewed multilateral collaboration to deliver more consistent progress across the UN’s three core pillars: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.

    Despite the formal bloc-wide endorsement, the path to a unified CARICOM position is not fully resolved. Another CARICOM member state, Antigua and Barbuda, has already nominated its own candidate for the role: H.E. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, an Ecuadorian former diplomat who entered the race on May 11, 2026.

    Shortly after the summit concluded, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne reaffirmed his government’s continued support for Espinosa Garcés, noting that CARICOM now has two highly qualified candidates in the running for the top UN job. This stance directly contradicts the formal summit communiqué’s call for unified regional backing, exposing lingering splits within the 14-member bloc over the selection process. The divide comes even though CARICOM’s founding Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas requires member states to coordinate their foreign policy positions on global issues.

    As the race for the UN’s top role enters its final phase with multiple candidates competing, the stakes could not be higher for CARICOM’s small island and coastal states. The current Secretary-General António Guterres’ second and final five-year term will expire in December 2026, with his successor set to take office in January 2027. The incoming leader will inherit a UN mid-way through comprehensive reform, operating amid unprecedented geopolitical tension that has strained the post-WWII international order.

    Guterres has recently warned that the existing 80-year-old rules-based global system is being displaced by a ‘law of the jungle’, a shift that small states like CARICOM’s members are uniquely vulnerable to. Caribbean nations are disproportionately exposed to risks stemming from the erosion of multilateralism and international law, leaving their sovereign influence and future stability uncertain in the current geopolitical climate.

    Against this backdrop, CARICOM member states universally recognize that the outcome of the Secretary-General race will shape nearly every core priority of their foreign policy, as the next UN chief will play a defining role in efforts to reset and strengthen the global body. This analysis, written by Nand C. Bardouille, Ph.D., manager of The Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean at The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago, reflects solely the author’s own views.

  • WATCH: PM Browne Presents Resolution In Parliament to Govern Any Third-Country National Transfer Agreement

    WATCH: PM Browne Presents Resolution In Parliament to Govern Any Third-Country National Transfer Agreement

    In a significant parliamentary development focused on strengthening national immigration and international cooperation frameworks, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has presented a key resolution to the Antigua and Barbuda Parliament that will establish formal regulatory guidelines for any future agreements involving the transfer of third-country nationals.

    The proposal, which has been long-awaited by legislative stakeholders and policy analysts, comes amid growing regional and global discussions about managing irregular migration, strengthening border security, and clarifying the legal terms of cross-border transfer arrangements between countries. In his address to lawmakers ahead of the vote on the resolution, PM Browne emphasized that the framework is designed to ensure that all such agreements align fully with the nation’s constitutional standards, international human rights obligations, and domestic policy priorities.

    Unlike ad-hoc arrangements that have been considered in some previous discussions, this resolution creates a clear, transparent legislative pathway that requires parliamentary oversight for any final agreement moving forward. It sets out specific requirements for documentation, screening, and welfare standards for any third-country nationals that would be subject to a transfer agreement, addressing concerns raised by opposition lawmakers and human rights advocacy groups over the past several months.

    Lawmakers are currently debating the provisions of the resolution, with a formal vote expected to be held in the coming days. Government officials have noted that the regulatory framework does not commit the country to any specific transfer agreement at this stage; instead, it creates the legal foundation that would allow the government to negotiate and implement such arrangements in compliance with domestic law. Prime Minister Browne reaffirmed that any agreement reached under this framework would prioritize national security while upholding the dignity and rights of all individuals involved, in line with the country’s longstanding commitment to international cooperation and humanitarian principles.

  • Is there an economic war of the United States against Cuba?

    Is there an economic war of the United States against Cuba?

    When analyzing modern geopolitical confrontation, few tactics are as pervasive yet underdiscussed as economic warfare — a non-military strategy where one power leverages trade, finance, and regulatory pressure to force policy concessions from a targeted nation. As French scholar Christian Harbulot famously framed it, economic warfare stands as the most powerful expression of non-military power dynamics, designed to cripple an adversary by cutting it off from global commercial, financial, and technological exchange. For Cuba, this is not an abstract concept: it has been the daily reality of its relationship with the United States for more than six decades, in the form of the sweeping economic, commercial, and financial blockade that has shaped every layer of Cuban life.

    The origins of this prolonged economic campaign stretch back to the immediate aftermath of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. In response to the new revolutionary government’s nationalist policy reforms, then-U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower moved quickly to cut off most bilateral trade, only exempting medicines and a small set of food products. Just three years later, in February 1962, President John F. Kennedy formalized the full blockade using powers granted by the newly enacted Foreign Assistance Act, a framework that remains the legal foundation of the embargo to this day.

    Under the still-valid legislation, the U.S. executive branch is authorized to maintain a complete trade embargo with Cuba, ban all direct U.S. aid to the Cuban government, bar the use of American international aid funds allocated to global organizations for any Cuba-focused programs, and withhold all U.S. government benefits from Cuba until the island compensates U.S. citizens and companies for properties nationalized after the revolution. Critically, the law also grants the U.S. president broad discretionary power to adjust the scope and intensity of sanctions, a authority that successive U.S. administrations have repeatedly used to ratchet up political and economic pressure on Havana. For decades, proponents of the blockade justified the measures by claiming Cuba posed a critical threat to U.S. national security, a narrative that grew increasingly threadbare after the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, which plunged Cuba into a deep economic crisis.

    With the Cold War pretext no longer credible, the U.S. shifted its justifications to claims of human rights abuses, codifying this new framing in the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act — more commonly known as the Torricelli Law. This legislation marked a key turning point, expanding the economic war beyond U.S. borders to internationalize pressure on Cuba. It prohibited Cuba from accessing financing from major international financial institutions, imposed sanctions on foreign governments that forgive Cuban debt, banned U.S. subsidiaries operating in third countries from trading with the island, and imposes an 180-day ban on any ship carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba docking at U.S. ports. A core outcome of this provision has been to push global financial institutions to avoid any engagement with Cuba, severely constraining the island’s access to foreign currency and complicating its commercial transactions with global partners.

    Four years later, the 1996 Helms-Burton Act deepened the extraterritorial reach of the blockade even further. Most notably, its Title III provision allows U.S. courts to hear lawsuits against foreign companies that operate in properties confiscated from U.S. owners after the revolution. This provision turned the economic war into a globally reaching measure, designed to deter third countries and foreign firms from doing business with Cuba through the threat of costly litigation. In recent decades, this provision has significantly shrunk the pool of foreign investment opportunities available to the island.

    Successive updates and expansions of the blockade over 60-plus years have turned it into a permanent, structural pillar of U.S.-Cuba confrontation, outlasting shifts in domestic political leadership in the United States and maintaining consistent pressure regardless of broader geopolitical changes. Even as some administrations have taken small steps to ease certain restrictions, former President Donald Trump intensified the campaign again with new executive orders, including a targeted energy siege that worsened the impact on Cuban communities. For Cuba, the cumulative impact of this decades-long economic warfare has been deep and multifaceted, touching every aspect of daily life, slowing long-term economic development, and reshaping the country’s engagement with the global economy.

    This op-ed is contributed by Ariel Pazos Ortiz, Consul of the Embassy of Cuba in Grenada. NOW Grenada does not take responsibility for the opinions and statements shared by contributors. Readers may report content that violates platform policies through official reporting channels.

  • COMMENTARY: A New Narrative for Agriculture – An Essential Debate in the 21st Century

    COMMENTARY: A New Narrative for Agriculture – An Essential Debate in the 21st Century

    For generations, the prevailing conversation around economic progress across Latin America has centered on a long-held assumption: meaningful development requires industrialization, rapid urbanization, and a departure from natural resource-based economies. In this outdated framework, agriculture was dismissed as a low-value traditional sector—merely a source of cheap raw materials and affordable food, capable of supporting growth but never leading deep, systemic economic transformation. Today, that long-standing perspective is being completely upended by sweeping global shifts.

    The global agri-food system is undergoing a fundamental structural restructuring, reshaping everything from how food is cultivated and energy is generated to how natural resources are managed and innovation is scaled. In this new global landscape, agriculture is no longer a stagnant primary sector; it has evolved into a strategic, knowledge-based platform anchored in cutting-edge science and technology. This paradigm shift carries unique weight for Latin America and the Caribbean: the region stands on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity, but unlocking it requires abandoning outdated mindsets and redefining agriculture’s role in national development strategies.

    Global demand trends leave no room for doubt: the world’s population is on track to approach 10 billion by 2050, and rapid expansion of the urban middle class across Asia and Africa is driving soaring demand for higher-protein food, specialized agricultural products, and diverse supply chains. Joint estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) project that global food demand will rise by roughly 50% by mid-century. Unlike the agricultural expansions of the past, however, this growth must happen against a backdrop of intensifying constraints: per capita arable land availability is steadily declining, freshwater resources face unprecedented pressure, and climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events that disrupt production and create market uncertainty.

    The core challenge facing global agriculture today is no longer simply increasing output—it is producing more food and goods while using fewer resources and dramatically shrinking the sector’s environmental footprint. The good news is that 21st-century agriculture has access to transformative tools that were unimaginable even 30 years ago. Breakthroughs ranging from biotechnology and gene editing to precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, robotics, and big data analytics are completely rewiring traditional production systems. The iconic image of a farmer making decisions based solely on generations of accumulated experience is being replaced by a new model: every step of production is now optimized with satellite imagery, predictive climate models, digital management platforms, and AI-powered tools that cut waste and boost yields.

    In this new era, agricultural competitiveness no longer hinges on how much unutilized natural resources a region holds. Instead, success depends increasingly on a region’s ability to generate, adapt, and deploy cutting-edge knowledge to solve modern challenges. By that measure, Latin America is uniquely positioned to lead this global transition. The region holds a large share of the world’s remaining arable land and freshwater reserves, and has already established itself as one of the globe’s top net food exporters. Over the past few decades, it has also made major strides in agricultural technological advancement.

    Countries including Brazil and Argentina have paced some of the world’s fastest agricultural productivity growth in recent decades. Brazil turned the once-inhospitable Cerrado savanna into a productive agricultural heartland through targeted applied research and adaptation of technology to tropical growing conditions. Argentina led the global expansion of no-till farming, and has achieved some of the world’s highest adoption rates for biotechnology and precision agriculture tools. These gains were no accident: they grew out of long-term sustained investment in agricultural research, strong public institutions dedicated to knowledge generation, and deep collaborative partnerships between the public and private sectors.

    Even with these technological advances, a troubling paradox remains. While modern agriculture grows increasingly technologically sophisticated, much of the public and political discourse in Latin America still frames the sector through 20th-century lenses. Agriculture is still too often portrayed exclusively as an extractive, low-complexity activity that conflicts with environmental protection. This gap between reality and public perception carries tangible costs: it blocks consensus-building around strategic policy, discourages long-term investment in the sector, and prevents policymakers from designing frameworks aligned with 21st-century challenges. Crucially, the debate does not need to be framed as a choice between agricultural production and environmental sustainability. Precisely because agriculture depends on healthy natural resources to thrive, the sector has strong inherent incentives to protect ecosystems and improve resource management.

    Adoption of new digital and biotechnological tools already allows producers to cut input use, boost water use efficiency, and reduce post-harvest production losses. Practices such as no-till farming and regenerative agricultural systems also increase carbon sequestration in soils, helping mitigate climate change while improving soil health.

    This shift naturally leads to the rise of the bioeconomy, a transformative concept that is redefining agriculture’s role in the global economy. The bioeconomy leverages biological resources, modern science, and cutting-edge technology to produce far more than food: it delivers renewable energy, sustainable biomaterials, bioplastics, specialized biomolecules, and a wide range of low-carbon industrial products. In short, it aims to gradually replace fossil fuel-based materials and production processes with renewable, biologically based alternatives.

    For Latin America, this transition unlocks extraordinary economic and social opportunities. Unlike knowledge-intensive manufacturing and tech industries that tend to cluster in large urban centers, most bioeconomic activities rely on biomass distributed across rural and regional territories. This creates new pathways for investment, job creation, and value addition in peripheral and intermediate regions that have long been left behind by urban-centric development models. As such, the bioeconomy can become a powerful tool for balanced territorial development, helping narrow regional economic disparities and create new opportunities for historically marginalized rural communities.

    But unlocking this potential requires far more than leveraging the region’s natural advantages. It demands modern, forward-thinking public policies, large-scale sustained investment in agricultural science and technology, clear and adaptive regulatory frameworks, and a shared cross-sector strategic vision for the sector’s future.

    Ultimately, the biggest challenge facing Latin America today is not just expanding agricultural production—it is changing how the region thinks about agriculture. It requires building a new national and regional narrative that recognizes 21st-century agriculture is far more than just a source of export revenue, and aligning policy and investment actions with that new reality. Historic economic opportunities do not come along often, and the global transformation of agri-food systems represents exactly that for Latin America. The question is no longer whether the region has the natural and human resources to play a leading global strategic role. The real question is whether it can build the conceptual, political, and institutional vision needed to fully harness this once-in-a-generation potential.

  • RF Prime lead BFA Women’ s League

    RF Prime lead BFA Women’ s League

    The opening matchups of the Barbados Football Association’s Kotex Women’s League have already produced a tightly contested battle for the early lead, with RF Prime emerging as the early pace-setters after the first two rounds of fixtures. What makes the early table particularly compelling is the logjam at the top of the standings: all three of the top-performing squads have already collected six points, leaving the rankings separated only by fine margins.

    RF Prime has claimed the number one position thanks to a superior goal difference over the second-ranked Mavericks. The two teams have had different fixture schedules so far, with Mavericks already completing three matches compared to RF Prime’s two outings.

    Holding down third place is Paradise, a side that has also played just two matches to this point. Paradise most recently took the pitch on Sunday at the BFA Technical Centre, where they secured a dominant 3-0 shutout victory against none other than second-placed Mavericks. Acacia Small emerged as the star of that match, finding the back of the net twice to pace her side, while Denea Payne contributed the third goal to lock in the comfortable win.

    Heading into the new week’s slate of fixtures, Empire sits in fourth place with three points. They are followed closely by Technique, which also holds three points but drops to fifth place due to an inferior goal difference that leaves it trailing Empire. In the current mid-table, FVFC Femini sits in sixth place, with Whitehall taking seventh and the Police side slotting into eighth. The three teams at the bottom of the early standings have yet to collect their first points of the new league season, leaving them hungry for their first wins when they return to the pitch.

  • Dragon fruit nursery opens as ministry grows Saint Lucia’s agriculture

    Dragon fruit nursery opens as ministry grows Saint Lucia’s agriculture

    The Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia is positioning dragon fruit as a cornerstone of its evolving agricultural strategy, following the official launch of the country’s first specialized dragon fruit nursery in Union, Castries. The new facility, opened Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the Taiwan Technical Mission, forms a key component of the government’s broader Seven Crops Project, an initiative designed to revamp the nation’s agricultural sector for modern challenges. The nursery will address a critical gap in local production by supplying farmers with standardized, high-quality planting material, as the government actively encourages greater adoption of this high-value, climate-adaptable crop.

    Aldine Eudovic, national coordinator for the Seven Crops Project, explained that the new nursery is far more than an isolated investment in a single crop—it is a core piece of a long-term strategy to diversify Saint Lucia’s agricultural output and build greater systemic resilience against the accelerating impacts of climate change. “This is not just a standalone effort to expand dragon fruit cultivation,” Eudovic noted. “It is one of many targeted initiatives we have rolled out under the Seven Crops Project to strengthen our agricultural portfolio.”

    Eudovic added that dragon fruit was selected for prioritized development due to its unique hardiness, which allows it to thrive in growing conditions that leave many of the island’s traditional staple crops struggling. As a member of the cactus family, dragon fruit grows successfully on marginal, low-fertility lands that are unsuitable for most conventional crops. This trait aligns perfectly with the Ministry of Agriculture’s climate action goals, which have shifted toward encouraging adoption of non-traditional, drought-tolerant crops that can withstand rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns.

    Beyond its climate benefits, dragon fruit also fills a rapidly growing unmet market demand on the island. Eudovic explained that Saint Lucia’s key hospitality sector has expressed overwhelming interest in sourcing local dragon fruit, with current demand far outstripping the volume that small-scale local producers can currently supply. “Hotels have been reaching out in droves for this product,” she said. “Tourists are eager for unique, fresh tropical produce grown right here in Saint Lucia, and the hotel sector is eager to meet that demand.”

    While Saint Lucia has never imported dragon fruit, only a small number of local farmers have grown the crop on a small scale for years. The government’s new initiative aims to accelerate commercial-scale production by distributing subsidized high-quality seedlings and providing dedicated technical guidance to farmers looking to add dragon fruit to their operations. Eudovic also pointed to another key economic advantage of the crop: its extended shelf life makes it an ideal candidate for export to regional and international markets, opening up new revenue streams for local producers.

    Agriculture Minister Lisa Jawahir framed the opening of the nursery as a milestone in the government’s ongoing push to modernize Saint Lucia’s farming sector. “Dragon fruit is the perfect symbol of resilience,” Jawahir said in remarks at the opening. “It thrives where many crops struggle, reminding us that with innovation and climate-smart agriculture, we can turn our greatest challenges into economic opportunities.”

    In addition to dragon fruit seedlings, the new nursery will also supply farmers with quality guava seedlings, giving producers more options to diversify their crop portfolios and tap into growing market demand for both specialty tropical fruits. Jawahir also emphasized the strategic opportunity to strengthen ties between the island’s agricultural sector and its core tourism industry. “There is no reason that authentic Saint Lucian agritourism experiences shouldn’t feature premium dragon fruit and guava grown right here on our soil,” she said. “By connecting our agriculture sector to our tourism industry, we create new, stable income streams for our farmers, cut unnecessary import costs, and strengthen our overall national economy.”

    Expanding local production of high-demand fruits like dragon fruit forms part of the government’s broader national goal to cut Saint Lucia’s multi-million-dollar annual food import bill, while creating inclusive new income opportunities for smallholder and commercial farmers across the island. To lower barriers for adoption, participating farmers will be able to purchase dragon fruit seedlings from the nursery at a heavily subsidized, reduced rate.