"Adding Value to Local Foods"

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation – ACP/EU (CTA), in collaboration with the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology (CCST), The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), The University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Trinidad & Tobago Film Company, launched the second Caribbean Science and Agriculture Film and Video Competition in October 2013. The main objective of this competition is to encourage the use of ICTs by young professionals in improving the environment for agricultural science and innovation in the Caribbean region.

We have received eighty-six (86) entries from 12 countries which were Haiti, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Suriname, Guyana, St. Kitts, Montserrat, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The competition encourages creative, technology savvy young professionals (persons 18-35 years) with a passion for communicating ideas and an interest in leveraging science and technology for agricultural and economic development to participate. The theme for this year’s competition is “Adding Value to Local Foods”. “Promoting the benefits of local foods” is by far the dominant category chosen by participants followed by “Processing options” and “Consumer/market driven (understanding and responding to consumer demands)”. The majority of applicants will utilize the video or film medium while seven teams have opted to use animation.

What's Next?

Reflecting a commitment to the idea that scientific knowledge, technical know-how and continuous innovation will only be effective if Caribbean people are adequately trained and motivated, this project will focus not only on communicating information but also on strengthening and increasing the capacity of young professionals in the Caribbean countries to use and promote science, technology and innovation in solving the challenges facing the agricultural and rural sectors. Out of the eighty-six (86) entries submitted, twenty-five (25) teams will be short listed to move on to the next part of the competition, which will be a six day training workshop. At the workshop specialists will share their expertise in various aspects of film making. There will also be a module led by a panel of technical experts in the field of agriculture, specifically local food production, processing and marketing.

Each team will be assigned two mentors, a scientist and an expert in film and video production, who will oversee the final production of videos for showcasing during the competition finals. All of the films will be broadcast online over a four week period. Winners will be chosen by online audiences as well as a jury of filmmakers. The winning film and videos will be uploaded and aired on various websites and television programmes in the Caribbean. The winners will attend the Caribbean Tales Film Festival in Barbados from April 14th-20th 2014. An award ceremony and special enrichment and networking programme will be held in June 2014 for competition winners.

The organizers wish to thank all those who assisted in the promotion of this competition. We are counting on your continued support as we go through the next paces of this project.