Webinar Series on Agri-Food Trade Promotion to CARICOM

06/11/2024

 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers this “Webinar Series on Agri-Food Trade Promotion to CARICOM”, with a dedication of 15 chronological hours, conducted between November 7th - December 12th, 2024. These webinar series will be delivered in asynchronous and synchronous mode. Participants will be able to review the content and study at their own pace.

Agri-food trade is seen as a potential source of efficiency gains and growth, but it also has a key role to play in achieving food security and nutrition, especially in developing countries. It can balance food deficits and surpluses at the national level, contribute to price stability and increase the diversity of food supply. 

Notwithstanding the advantages of international trade mentioned above, there is a perception that producers do not perceive the economic and social benefits of participating in these structures, which are usually monopolized by large intermediaries or complex and/or concentrated trade structures. In addition, policies and programs to achieve a good insertion in international markets of agri-food products from MSMEs and Family Farming Cooperatives are very limited in the region or need to be strengthened. 

Based on evidence from various FAO studies, coupled with a lack of knowledge of international agri-food trade and insufficient access to technical and market information, it can be concluded that international agri-food trade structures in some Caribbean countries need to be supported and strengthened, which is the problem to be addressed in this training proposal, with the aim of preparing and encouraging  MSMEs and Family Farming organizations to internationalize in a sustainable manner. 

The course objective is to train management leaders (marketing, sales and general managers) in family farming organizations, cooperatives and rural agri-food MSMEs in foreign trade, internationalization, commercial strategies, e-commerce and negotiations. And public officials from Ministers of Trade or Agriculture from CARICOM member countries.

 

Course overview:

Name: Agri-Food Trade Promotion to CARICOM

Code: TFSN062023

Language: English

Type: Virtual course

Duration: 15 chronological hours (9 synchronous hours and 6 asynchronous hours).

Modality and Methodology:

The course is self-paced and will be delivered 60% online synchronously in Zoom and 40% online synchronously in Moodle LMS. The course is divided into four modules and includes 6 live webinars. Modules 1 and 2 have one webinar each, while modules 3 and 4, two each. 

The estimated time required for finishing this course is 15 chronological hours. At the end of each module, participants will be able to review the webinar sessions and download experts´ presentations in PDF format.  

 

Audience:

• Marketing and sales managers and general managers of agricultural, family farming cooperatives and MSME organizations in CARICOM member countries, and public officials from Ministers of Trade or Agriculture.
•  Potential Partners: CARICOM Secretariat, International Trade Center - ITC, Caribbean Export Development Agency, CARICOM Private Sector Organization, national government foreign trade agents (Customs Services, Ministries of Foreign Trade, Agriculture and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulation and Control Agencies, among others).
• Scope: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

A selection process will be carried out for participants, who will be contacted by FAO Training.

General objective:

To train management leaders in family farming organizations, cooperatives and rural agri-food MSMEs in foreign trade, internationalization, commercial strategies, e-commerce and negotiations. And public officials from Ministers of Trade or Agriculture from CARICOM member countries.

Specific objectives:

• To name the basic concepts of international trade and its evolution and the institutional framework of trade: national, regional and multilateral and trade trends, in particular sustainable trade. 
• To compare the CARICOM network of free trade agreements with other networks.
• To understand the non-tariff requirements for exporting agri-foods, the importance of food safety to be part of international trade, and the different trade-related certifications that exist: sustainability, fair trade, organic, etc.
• To identify different tools and databases to design a good internationalization business plan, different tips to have a good negotiation at international level to optimize business meetings.
• To understand an export process, as well as the different support tools that exist to internationalize. 
  
  

Contents:

• Module 1 (webinar 1): Introduction to international trade, institutional framework and network of trade agreements.
  • Introduction to international trade and trends.
  • Institutional framework: national, regional and multilateral organizations.
  • International trade and sustainable development.
  • Network of Trade Agreements in the Region and at the Global level.
• Module 2: (webinar 2) Sustainable Trade: Supply chain, certifications and labeling
  • Non-tariff requirements.
  • Food safety.
  • Trade certifications (sustainability, VSS, bio, etc.).
• Module 3 (webinar 3): Business Plan Design and International
  • Negotiations Market intelligence.
  • Business plan design.
  • International negotiations.
  • Good practices for business closings.
• Module 3 (webinar 4): Business Plan Design and International Negotiations
  • Case Studies: AF experience – Cooperatives.
• Module 4 (webinar 5): Export Logistics: export promotion tools Transportation logistics.
  • Digitalization and e-commerce.
• Module 4 (webinar 6) Export Logistics: export promotion tools
  • Main export promotion tools.
  • Establishment of export costs and sources of financing. 

Evaluation and passing requirements:

To approve the virtual course, participants must submit the final evaluation (questionnaire) with a minimum of 70% of achievement and attend 4 out of 6 webinars.

The evaluation will be measured according to the following percentage scale:
• Approved: 70 to 100 points.
• Failed: 0 to 69 points.

Better to which it belongs: BN5: Transparent markets and trade.

Responsible Officer: Pablo Rabczuk – Political Affairs and Liaison Officer.

Technical team:

• Pablo Rabczuk – Political Affairs and Liaison Officer.
• Camilo Navarro – Agri-food International Market Specialist.
• Cosimo Avesani – Trade Policy Analyst.