The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-Operation (CTA), the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) and Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) will be hosting an international workshop on AgroTourism Linkages on October 3-5, 2005 at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Conference Centre, St. Kitts & Nevis. The event forms an integral part of the 5th annual Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which is the highest regional forum for discussions on the development of the agricultural sector in the Region. International and regional experts will be sharing their experiences in Culinary, Agro-Heritage, Community, Agro-Eco and Herbal/Wellness Tourism to an audience of some seventy-five public and private sector delegates from across the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. The impressive line-up of speakers includes Rosemary Parkinson, internationally renowned author of “Culinaria”, representatives from UCODEP and Slow Food International in the Dominican Republic, Kew Gardens and the Eden Project (UK), Exotica (Dominica), the Caribbean Wellness Association and Jamaica Wellness Festival, and Food Festivals in Trinidad, Jamaica and St. Lucia. With the establishment of an AgroTourism Centre located in the IICA Barbados office, IICA is promoting Agrotourism as a “Win-Win” partnership for both sectors, that has the potential to create greater resilience in our communities and generate entrepreneurship, new investment and ultimately, sustainable livelihoods. At the end of the two-day meeting, the delegates will be proposing to IICA, CDE, CTA and CTO, a framework for concerted and collaborative action aimed at promoting public-private sector involvement, and support for investment opportunities in AgroTourism across the Caribbean Region. Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization