Over 200 agriculturists, representing 22 countries will converge on St. Thomas, from July 6-11, at the Sugar Bay Resort and Spa for the Caribbean Food Crops Society’s (CFCS) 50th annual meeting to discuss production, marketing and policy issues affecting agriculture in the Caribbean. This year’s theme is “Enhancing Family Farms through Sustainable Energy, Research, and Technology.”
“I anticipate that the golden anniversary of this organization will be one of the most diverse and extensive gatherings of agricultural researchers, educators, students and administrators,” said UVI Cooperate Extension Service Director and current CFCS President Kwame Garcia, Sr. “This year’s meeting will include oral and poster presentations, exhibits, a local farmers’ forum and educational tours.” The CFCS meeting is the ideal venue for local farmers, farmer’s associations, and entire local farming community to network with agriculture researchers and policy makers from the entire Caribbean area and from the southern United States, he said.
Joining this 50th annual meeting will be the Caribbean AgroEconomic Society, the Association of Research Directors, the Association of Extension Administrators, the American Phytopathological Society-Caribbean Division, and the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Committee on the Status of Blacks in Agricultural Economics.
The CFCS is an independent non-profit professional organization with interdisciplinary orientation and membership. It fosters communication among persons capable of contributing to the development of science, technology, and production of food crops and animals in the countries of the Caribbean Basin. It was constituted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 3, 1963. The U.S. Virgin Islands have been involved from the beginning, as St. Croix hosted the first annual CFCS meeting in 1963. The meeting returned to the territory in 1972 and 1984, and subsequently, every ten years thereafter.
The CFCS registration fees are $350, ($250 for students). Conference and hotel informational forms are available at http://cfcs.eea.uprm.edu.
The CFCS meeting will be hosted by the UVI Cooperative Extension Service, the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station, the V.I. Department of Agriculture, the V.I. Department of Tourism, and the V.I. Energy Office.
For more information please contact Evannie Jeremiah at (340) 692-4094 or email cfcs2014conference@gmail.com