Author: SKNISEditor

Minister of Agriculture of Chile, María Emilia Undurraga; scientist and 2020 World Food Prize laureate, Rattan Lal; Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero; Director General of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Juan Lucas Restrepo; Manager of IICA’s Climate Change, National Resources and Management of Production Risks Program, Kelly Witkowski; UNCCD representative, Miriam Medel; and Global Leader of Food Practice at the WWF, Joao Campari. Glasgow, Scotland, 4 November 2021 (IICA). The importance of soil health for climate change mitigation, resilience and agrifood system sustainability took center stage during a debate among representatives from international organizations at the global…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 04, 2021 (SKNIS): Health centres in St. Kitts and Nevis are now offering a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as well as booster shots for persons who qualify. On Wednesday’s (November 03, 2021) edition of the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Briefing, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, Medical Chief of Staff of the Joseph N. France General Hospital, explained the difference between a third dose and a booster shot. “There are persons who are immunocompromised and who after getting their first two doses would not have mounted a sufficient antibody response and so they will need to get…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 04, 2021 (SKNIS): The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has made considerable progress in creating a diverse tourism product that encompasses the critical component of environmental protection. During the November 3, 2021, edition of ‘Working For You’, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mrs. Carlene Henry-Morton, spoke on the impact of the changing climate on the tourism industry. “We rely heavily on our natural environment, that is fundamentally what we build our tours and experiences around. Yes, we do have our heritage, our entertainment, and many other things but fundamentally what draws people here is…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 4, 2021 (SKNIS): The Team Unity Cabinet of Ministers met on Monday, November 1, 2021, at the Ministry of Finance Conference Room, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris. The Cabinet discussed several issues related to health, tourism, security and the recovery of the economy on a whole. The National COVID-19 Task Force gave its weekly briefing to the Cabinet where the usual update on statistics with respect to infections, recoveries, and deaths locally, regionally, and internationally was given. Members of the Task Force revealed that the Federation had curtailed the third wave…

02 November, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy N.J. Antoine, says he believes vaccination is a key tool in the global arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic, and he encourages those in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) who are not yet fully vaccinated to do so in order to help bring the pandemic under control. “We still have a pandemic that’s raging and, therefore, in pandemic economics, rule number one is to control the pandemic – bring it under control,” Governor Antoine said this week. As at 01 November 2021,…

(Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 4, 2021): Effective Thursday November 4 2021, all animal feed at the Department of Agriculture will be available to farmers at half price. This was confirmed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ron Dublin Collins who made the announcement on Thursday morning. He said the 50% discount has been introduced to help farmers currently experiencing challenges from the recent shortage of animal feed that is crippling sectors across the region. Permanent Secretary Collins along with other senior officials in the Ministry recently met with poultry and livestock farmers in efforts to provide further support to these farmers. The consultations were held to provide alternative arrangements to source feed,…

26th October 2021, St. John’s, Antigua – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is creating more buzz with their ongoing training of beekeepers in Antigua. The second group of 14 beekeepers – 3 females and 11 are males were recently trained in Beekeeping practices and business management under the FAO project “Rebuilding the resilience of agriculture sector and livelihoods of Barbudans affected by Hurricane Irma”. The project which was designed with climate challenges in mind, aims to increase the number of local beekeepers to create sustainable food and agriculture systems.The project was also developed in response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma and aligns its capacity building with…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 04, 2021 (SKNIS): Greater training opportunities in entrepreneurship is on the horizon for residents in St. Kitts and Nevis as the government seeks to enhance pathways for interested persons to become self-employed. The plans for such were outlined during Tuesday’s (November 02, 2021) edition of Leadership Matters by the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett, the Federal Minister responsible for Entrepreneurship. She noted that one of the partners being engaged by the government for capacity building opportunities is Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC), where training will be offered in areas such as female entrepreneurship. “We are also partnering to be able to…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 04, 2021 (SKNIS): Entertainers in St. Kitts and Nevis are receiving a helping hand from the government via access to financing options as authorities continue to ease restrictions implemented last year to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among the population. The Honourable Akilah Byron Nisbett, Minister responsible for Health, ICT, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship and Talent Development, said that even before the pandemic, entertainers found it difficult to access capital from financial institutions and other lenders. As COVID-19 moves closer to an endemic, it has become even more important to find sources of financing as part of…

Glasgow, Scotland, November 3, 2021—As climate-vulnerable countries continue to push for meaningful outcomes from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, representatives of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) met on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, to finalize the position of the group going into negotiations. Areas of focus included climate financing, a cap of 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise, capacity building, and phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies. During the meeting, the Federation’s Environment Minister, the Hon. Eric Evelyn highlighted the importance of climate financing and the creation of mechanisms for small island developing states to easily…