The development of productive and fully integrated linkages between the Agri-Food Sector and Tourism in the Caribbean Region offers significant potential for repositioning and broad-based growth in the Agriculture value chain, and opportunities for channelling the Region’s diversity and building-in genuine competitiveness and sustainability in the tourism product. Forging Agriculture-Tourism linkages capitalizes on the inherent ability of the Tourism sector to diversify the Caribbean economy, stimulate entrepreneurship, catalyse investment and assist in wider social development in local communities. Such linkages offer unprecedented  opportunities to stem and reverse the declines in traditional agriculture, stimulate the rapid growth in “new‟ agriculture and build resilience and sustainability of Caribbean economies. The latter is particularly critical for reducing the high levels of foreign exchange leakage in tourism, preserving cultural identity, reducing poverty in local communities and enhancing local awareness and good practices with respect to climate change and environmental issues. Goal: To provide a mechanism for managing and increasing the local and regional development impact of Tourism and Agriculture through the creation of a collaborative and inclusive planning and implementation framework that can drive trade and new business between the two sectors. Objectives ·         To promote linkages between the agrifood sector and the tourism industry to increase sustainable sourcing through the strengthening of agritourism policy and strategy in the Caribbean ·         To increase the understanding and awareness of the current deficiencies in the supply of fresh and processed agricultural products along the value chain and the actions needed ·         To design inter-sectoral and inclusive policies which promote PPPs for improved local food use and consumption. ·         To identify concrete regional projects that can be supported under the intra ACP EU funding.

1. Cheesemaking in the
Tropics – Defying the
odds!
Presented by Andrea Power
October 9th 2019
CTA-IICA Caribbean Agritourism Policy Setting Workshop
October 9-11, Radisson Aquatica Resort, Barbados

2. Who are we?
 Started in 2014 - We are a local artisanal
cheese manufacturing company serving
both the on-premise sectors through
restaurants and hospitality distributors
and the off-premise or retail market
through supermarkets, gourmet shops
and farmer’s markets

3. What do we make?
A range of cheeses from goat’s and cow’s
milk:
Goat’s Milk
Fresh Goat Cheese or chevre – plain and
herbed
Rosemary Goat Cheddar
Cow’s Milk
Scotch bonnet Jack
Drunken Cheddar
Bimshire Gold
Kofi’s Blue
Bajan Brie

4. Key Challenges
Supply side
 Persistent shortage of goat and cow’s milk supply
 Because of the unique nature of our business the
technological eco-system required is non-
existent
 No local or regional standards to guide
production for the sector
Demand side
 Heavily subsidized imports of dairy products for
which the local price doesn’t reflect the cost of
production. This is a huge disincentive for any
kind of agribusiness
 Many of our chefs still design menus that are not
oriented towards the use of local products –
whether it is fresh produce or agriprocessed
inputs

5. On the Horizon
 Participation in the World Cheese
Awards in Bergamo Italy as a judge
next week
 Signed a co-production agreement
with a dairy farm to expand
production both in terms of
quantity and range
 New products will include Fresh
Butter, Fresh Cream, Ricotta and
Cultured Buttermilk
 HACCP Compliance by the end of
2020
 Exports