Official photo of the first joint meeting of ALBA-TCP Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries as part of the Expoferia AgroALBA held in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: ALBA-TCP.
Agriculture and Fisheries ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) and allies signed their first agreement on a common agenda, marking a milestone in regional integration.
The document, adopted on Friday, June 6, contains 14 points aimed at promoting agricultural and food production, sustainable fishing, and the reduction of trade imbalances among member countries.
The initiatives include the Alba Azul Project, focused on sustainable fishing, the use of the Ezequiel Zamora Fish Farming Complex in Venezuela as a technical reference center, the standardization of sanitary certifications, and the creation of a regional scientific network for agricultural and aquaculture research.
The agreement, unanimously approved, lays the foundations for technical cooperation in the region, in line with ALBA-TCP’s governing principles of complementarity and sovereignty. The ministers affirmed their willingness to work together to guarantee “the greatest happiness for our peoples,” based on the integrationist vision of the bloc.
This agreement is part of the commitment to implement the guidelines of ALBA’s Strategic Agenda 2030, promoting productive initiatives in the bloc’s zone of economic shared development.
The ministers stressed that “fair and equitable trade exchange” supported by a “robust maritime infrastructure” will be key to stimulating economic growth, expanding the geographical scope of trade, and generating employment, thus contributing to poverty reduction and strengthening the social fabric.
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The 14 points of the agreement
- Consolidation of AgroALBA: To strengthen this mechanism as a strategic axis of cooperation and integration, facilitating partnerships for access to productive land according to the capacities and needs of each country.
- Technical and logistical support: To guarantee the production of priority items for food sovereignty under a “sustainable, solidarity-based, and complementary” model.
- Regional investment fund: To create a fund for food production projects, prioritizing sustainable production and agro-industrial transformation.
- Unified certification system: To implement a phytosanitary and zoosanitary mechanism to expedite intra-ALBA trade.
- Standardization of certificates: Standardization of sanitary certificates for agricultural, livestock, fishery, and aquaculture products, with a 12-month deadline for their adoption.
- Regional plan for regenerative agriculture: To promote agroecological practices that guarantee the sustainability of natural resources.
- Knowledge transfer: To establish a training program in agroecological technologies for producers and technicians.
- Common agroecology protocol: To develop guidelines that can be adapted to the production conditions of each country.
- Joint fishing fleet: To form a regional fleet to optimize resources and capacities among member countries.
- Network of research centers: Creation of a specialized network in fisheries, aquaculture, and related sciences to promote innovation.
- ALBA-TCP bloc in fishing forums: To participate in a coordinated manner in such forums.
- Common framework for fishing resources: To design regulations for the sustainable use of shared resources.
- Fisheries and aquaculture working group: To establish an ad hoc team to design sectoral policies.
- Inclusion of the fishing sector in the ALBA Social Council: To incorporate representatives of the sector in the bloc’s decision-making spaces.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
