BVI Officials Empowered at Climate-Resilient Food Systems
Two senior Virgin Islands officials returned this month from a five-day international workshop in Tahiti, reporting new ideas and practical examples to strengthen local agriculture and fisheries. Permanent Secretary Carolyn Stoutt-Igwe and Director Theodore E. James say the experience will inform policy development, capacity building and planned consultations with farmers and fishers in the new year.
Two senior officials from the Virgin Islands returned home this month after attending a five-day international workshop focused on building climate-resilient food systems for Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office Mrs. Carolyn Stoutt-Igwe and Director of Agriculture and Fisheries Mr.
James were delegates at the event, which ran from 1–5 December in Tahiti, French Polynesia. The workshop was organised by Green Overseas and funded by the European Union, and brought together participants from multiple OCTs for peer-to-peer learning, roundtable discussions, group activities and field visits (BVI Government).
Officials described the workshop as both empowering and enlightening. “The workshop reiterated the need to pay greater attention to the agricultural and fisheries sectors, with policies and programmes developed to promote food security and food sovereignty,” Permanent Secretary Stoutt-Igwe said in a report to the Premier’s Office (BVI Government).
She emphasised that observing production on farms and the value-added services being implemented helped illustrate practical ways to increase access to healthy foods. Director James highlighted examples of innovation rooted in local culture. He pointed to the John Doom School, a leading vocational institution for agriculture, where students were transforming seaweed and other seafoods into market-ready, packaged foods — a clear example of how secondary education can feed real-world value chains (BVI Government).
He also praised fisherfolk-led fisheries management and conservation through strong local associations. Delegates visited processing sites and small-scale enterprises showing how value-added activity and market-ready packaging can broaden access to nutritious foods. Officials noted common challenges across islands, including limited investment and the need to scale public–private partnerships to expand production and distribution (BVI Government).
The workshop underscored the importance of building departmental capacity. Both Stoutt-Igwe and James said departments across UK Overseas Territories must be equipped with trained personnel to deliver effective extension services, and that collecting, analysing and applying data is essential to ensure data-driven investment and production (BVI Government).
Returning officials will use the insights to inform policy development and planned consultations with farmers and fishers in the new year. Their report to the Premier’s Office and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is expected to shape programmes and strategies aimed at improving food security, supporting local producers, and adapting sector policies to a changing climate.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, a division of the Premier’s Office, is mandated to promote and regulate the Territory’s agricultural and fisheries sectors to ensure food safety, sustainable production and economic growth. Photo Credit: Green Overseas (BVI Government).
Primary source: BVI Government