Prominent agriculturalist and Director Emeritus of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr. Chelston Braithwaite, has been appointed the new Chairman of the National Agricultural Commission.

Dr. Brathwaite, who is also Interim Director of the School of Agriculture, University of the West Indies, replaces former Chairman, Dr. Elsie Alleyne.

The committee comprises: Deputy Chairman, Dr. Basil Springer;?? Members, Vernon Weekes, Senator Frances Chandler, Kathleen Donawa, Kenneth Chase, Keeley Holder, Michael Forde, the Chief Agricultural Officer; and a representative of the Barbados Agricultural Society, the Barbados Agricultural Management Company, the Barbados Agricultural and Marketing Corporation, ??the Congress of

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Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, in converstion with new Chairman of the National Agricultural Commission, Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, at a recent meeting. (A. Skeete/BGIS)

Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados, the Barbados Manufacturers Association, the University of the West Indies and the Chairman of the Commission for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases.

The new body took up duties on November 1, and is expected to serve for three years, until October 31, 2014.

The mandate of the National Agricultural Commission is to advise the Minister of Agriculture on critical policy issues which are relevant to the development of agriculture and assist in policy implementation.

Commenting on the appointment, Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick, said Dr. Brathwaite brings "a wealth of experience and expertise to the position" which would prove vital as Barbados sought to move the local agricultural sector to a more modern platform.

andre.skeete@barbados.gov.bb

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