UWI/China Agricultural Innovation Park launched
The first phase of the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus UWI/ China Agricultural University (CAU) Agricultural Innovation Park (AIP) has been launched at the university’s 200 acre farm at Orange Grove.
The project seeks to showcase advanced intensive agricultural production methodologies, utilizing technologies and best practices from China coupled with indigenous best practices and knowledge of food production from the Caribbean. Work at the AIP will utilize biotechnology, mechanization, new varieties and climate-smart intensive agricultural production systems, which seeks to build a sustainable agri-industrial sector in the region.
The partnership between the UWI St Augustine and the CAU began in 2013. In his address, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal Professor Clement Sankat said the project is being used as a development model for Caribbean agriculture.
CTO upbeat about Caribbean’s short term visitor arrival prospects
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Chairman Richard Sealey expects the tourism industry to grow by 5 to 6 per cent this year.
The Caribbean, Sealey says, continues to outpace all major regions of the world in tourist arrivals, with a 5.8 per cent increase in arrivals over the first half of the year.
For the first six months the Caribbean welcomed 14.8 million, approximately 800,000 or 5.8 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2014, well above the 4.1 per cent recorded globally, Sealey said. For that period the Caribbean’s share of global arrivals stood at 2.8 per cent.
The United States remains the Caribbean’s main market with 7.3 million tourist visits between January and June this year, a 5.3 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
According to Sealey, “The thawing of the relationship between Cuba and United States resulted in greater numbers of Americans transiting through other countries like the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in order to visit Cuba.” Additionally, he said, “The Canadian market continues to perform well with 2.1 million visits during the period, while arrivals from Europe increased by a modest 1.1 per cent, moving from 2.58 million in 2014 to 2.61 in 2015.” He added that the intra-regional market recorded strong growth of 5.5 per cent, with some 400,000 visits.” Sealey said the numbers suggest that the prospects for Caribbean tourism are good, and that the CTO remains “cautiously optimistic” in the immediate term.
WHO’s meats cancer warning
The global meat industry is reportedly worried over this week’s recent disclosure that eating processed meats is a cancer hazard, and that red meat probably is too.
The WHO labels processed meats, including sausages and bacon as carcinogenic to humans and says that the same is “probably” true about red meat, including beef, pork, and lamb.
The judgment was based on elevated risk of colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel cancer – observed in epidemiological studies. Colorectal cancer is reportedly the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
The North American Meat Institute has described the WHO disclosure as a “dramatic and alarmist overreach” while the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reportedly asserted that the scientists assembled by the WHO did not agree unanimously and that the matter was settled by a majority vote.
Nutrition experts have long advocated placing limits on the consumption of meat and animal products arising out of concerns over fat and cholesterol.
