Protocol Amending the Treaty Establishing the Caribbean Community
( Protocol V: Agricultural Policy)
PREAMBLE:
The Parties to the Treaty Establishing the Caribbean
Community (hereinafter referred to as "the Member States");
Recognizing the importance of agriculture,
including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry for regional food and
nutrition security and the economic and social development of the peoples
of the Community;
Conscious that globalization and
liberalization
have important implications for the international competitiveness of the
agricultural sector;
Convinced of the need to improve agricultural
production and productivity, and strengthen the linkages between the agricultural
sector and other sectors of the Single Market and Economy;
Aware that differences in resource endowment
and in the levels of economic development of the Member States may affect
the implementation of the Community Agricultural Policy;
Determined to effect a fundamental transformation
of the agricultural sector of the Community by diversifying agricultural
production, intensifying agro-industrial development, expanding agri-business,
and generally conducting agricultural production on a market-oriented,
internationally competitive and environmentally sound basis;
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I
Use of Terms
1. In this Protocol unless the context otherwise
requires:
"Community" includes the Caribbean Single
Market and Economy to be established by the Protocols amending or replacing
the Caribbean Common Market Annex to the Treaty, as amended by Protocol
I;
"the Council for Foreign and Community Relations"
means the organ of the Community so named in Article 6(2)(b) of the Treaty,
as amended by Protocol I;
"the Council for Trade and Economic Development"
means the organ of the Community so named in Article 6(2)(a)
of the Treaty, as amended by Protocol I;
"Member States" means Member States of
the Community;
"Treaty" means the Treaty establishing
the Caribbean Community signed at Chaguaramas on the 4th day of July 1973
and includes any amendments thereto which take effect either provisionally
or definitively (herein referred to as "the Treaty");
"WTO Agreement" means the Agreement establishing
the World Trade Organization done at Marrakesh on the 15th day of April
1994 establishing the World Trade Organization.
2. In this Protocol a reference to Protocol I
is a reference to the Protocol amending the Treaty and signed at Antigua
and Barbuda on 19 February, 1997.
ARTICLE II
Amendment
The provisions of this Protocol shall replace
Articles 48 and 49 of the
Caribbean Common Market Annex to the Treaty and
take effect as hereinafter provided.
ARTICLE III
Replace Article 48 with the following:
Article 48
"The Community Agricultural Policy"
1. The goal of the Community Agricultural Policy
shall be:
(a) the fundamental transformation of the agricultural
sector towards market-oriented, internationally-competitive and environmentally-sound
production of agricultural products;
(b) improved income and employment opportunities,
food and nutrition security, and poverty alleviation in the Community;
(c) the efficient cultivation and production of
traditional and non-traditional primary agricultural products;
(d) increased production and diversification of
processed agricultural products;
(e) an enlarged share of world markets for primary
and processed agricultural products; and
(f) the efficient management and sustainable exploitation
of the Region's natural resources including its forests and the living
resources of the exclusive economic zone,
bearing in mind the differences in resource endowment
and economic development of Member States."
ARTICLE IV
Insert new Article to read as follows:
"Article 4a
Implementation of the Community Agricultural
Policy
1. For the achievement of the goal set out in
Article 1, the Community shall, through competent Community organs and
bodies, promote and support:
(a) the production, diversification, processing
and marketing of agricultural products;
(b) the establishment of effective agricultural
financing systems, including insurance, bearing in mind the special needs
of artisanal fishers, small farmers, foresters and agro-processors;
(c) the establishment of linkages among Member
States with complementary natural resources, industries, agricultural skills
and technical abilities;
(d) the development of human resources and delivery
systems responsive to the requirements of the agricultural sector;
(e) the development of appropriate policies for
the use of land and marine space with a view to increased agricultural
production;
(f) appropriate land tenure systems to provide
the farmer with security of tenure;
(g) the establishment of effective information
and market intelligence services;
(h) research and development with a view to the
adaptation, dissemination and application of appropriate technologies at
all levels of the sector and all stages of production;
(i) the adoption of effective measures for rural
enterprise development;
(j) public education to enhance the economic and
social profiles of agriculture, particularly among the youth;
(k) the establishment of an effective regime of
sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
(l) the establishment of a policy environment
designed to attract investment to the agricultural sector; and
(m) technical cooperation and the dissemination
of knowledge in agriculture.
2. For the purpose of assisting Member States
to implement the agricultural policy set out in paragraph 1, the Council
for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) shall establish effective support
measures including:
(a) strengthening the relevant administrative
and institutional framework to modernize and enhance the competitiveness
of agriculture by:
(i) improving the capability of Member States
to undertake policy analysis, formulation, planning, execution and resource
mobilization for the development of the sector;
(ii) investigating and analyzing developments
in the agri-food sector; and
(iii) improvement of the collection, analysis
and dissemination of empirical data and other relevant information;
(b) upgrading of national and regional capabilities
in the areas of sustainable natural resources management;
(c) enhancement of the capabilities of Member
States in the areas of agricultural trade analysis and negotiations; and
(d) promotion of a mechanism for the collaboration
of farmers, fishers, foresters and the social partners in agricultural
development.
3. The Community shall:
(a) promote collaboration among Member States
and competent regional organizations in the areas of policy formulation
and implementation of regional agricultural policies; and
(b) establish an effective regime to protect regional
agricultural production from dumping, subsidization and other unfair trading
practices.
4. The Community shall, as a matter of priority,
and in collaboration with national, regional and international agencies
and organizations, promote and adopt measures relating, inter alia, to:
(a) the provision of appropriate inputs; and
(b) the development of infrastructure, such as
port facilities, drainage, irrigation, access roads, post-harvest handling
and marketing facilities."
ARTICLE V
Insert new Article to read as follows:
"Article 48b
Natural Resource Management
1. The Community shall adopt effective measures
to assist Member States in the management of their natural resources in
support of the transformation and sustainable development of the agricultural
sector.
2. Without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing and to obligations of Member States under existing international
agreements, the Community shall adopt measures for:
(a) the effective management of the soil, air
and all water resources, the exclusive economic zone and all other maritime
areas under national jurisdiction of Member States; and
(b) the conservation of biological diversity and
the sustainable use of biological resources of Member States, especially
those of important medicinal and traditional value."
ARTICLE VI
Insert new Article to read
as follows:
"Article 48c
Human Resource Development
1. The Community shall, on a continuing basis,
adopt effective measures for the development of human resources to satisfy
the requirements for cadres of skilled agricultural personnel at all levels
in Member States.
For the purposes of paragraph 1, provision shall
be made to:
(a) monitor and evaluate, on an on-going basis,
the demand for, and appropriateness of agricultural education and training;
(b) establish training programs in the agricultural
sector;
(c) develop effective delivery of in-field training
for farmers, foresters and fishers; and
(d) improve the facilities and strengthen the
capabilities of regional training institutions and national administrations
in support of agricultural development.
3. In performing the functions referred to in
paragraph 2 of this Article, the Community shall collaborate with education
and training institutions and relevant regional and international organizations
in developing harmonized agricultural syllabuses, training materials and
case studies in key areas of farming, fisheries and forestry utilizing
distance education technology where appropriate."
ARTICLE VII
Insert new Article to read as follows:
"Article 48d
Research, Development and Use of Technology
1. The Community shall promote and encourage research
and development, and the adaptation, diffusion and transfer of appropriate
technologies in order to achieve increased production and productivity.
2. The Community shall, in collaboration with
competent public and private sector research and development institutions,
encourage and assist Member States:
(a) to facilitate access to and use of new and
appropriate technologies in the agricultural sector;
(b) to develop:
(i) efficient systems for the generation and transfer
of appropriate technologies; and
(ii) technological and institutional capabilities
in the public and private sectors, compatible with competitive and sustainable
agricultural production.
3. In the pursuit of its functions under this
Article, the Community shall encourage the private sector to play a vital
role in:
(a) the development, adaptation and transfer of
appropriate technologies in the agricultural sector; and
(b) the development of producer associations as
a basis for autonomous action and intra-regional transfer of technologies
and research findings.
4. The Community shall co-operate with Member
States and competent organizations to devise means of protecting, developing
and commercializing local knowledge about the value and use of the Region's
biodiversity for the benefit of their populations, especially their indigenous
peoples."
ARTICLE VIII
Replace Article 49 with the
following:
"Article 49
Marketing of Agricultural Products
1. The Community shall, in collaboration with
competent national, regional and international organizations, promote the
development of effective agricultural marketing systems in order to respond
to, influence and generate market demand for agricultural products of Member
States.
2. In effecting the promotion referred to in paragraph
1, the Community shall pay particular attention to:
(a) improved post-harvest technology;
(b) market information, intelligence and planning;
(c) risk insurance; and
(d) efficient distribution services.
3. In order to accomplish the objectives referred
to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Community shall adopt measures to
promote:
(a) the establishment of a regional market information
system;
(b) the improvement of production and market information
systems of Member States in order to facilitate, inter alia, the efficient
co-ordination of marketing strategies and systems;
(c) institutional arrangements including producer
associations and joint venture marketing enterprises in order to respond
to existing and changing market conditions;
(d) niche marketing;
(e) linkages between agriculture and other sectors;
(f) the identification and utilization of sources
of low cost alternative inputs;
(g) the establishment and adoption of regional
standards and specifications compatible with international standards for
products being traded;
(h) enhanced productivity and food quality;
(i) insurance coverage for primary agricultural
products; and
(j) the development of efficient distribution
services to facilitate intra- and extra-regional marketing.
4. In pursuance of the need to generate market
demand for agricultural products of Member States and to promote the agricultural
development of the Less Developed Countries, Member States shall agree
to the arrangements for marketing oils and fats set out in Schedule III
of the Protocol amending the Treaty to provide for a Trade Policy."
ARTICLE IX
Insert new Article to read as follows:
"Article 49a
Fisheries Management and Development
1. The Community, in collaboration with national,
regional and international agencies and organizations, shall promote the
development, management and conservation of the fisheries resources in
and among Member States on a sustainable basis.
2. The Community shall effect the promotion and
facilitation referred to in paragraph 1 by:
(a) enhancing the institutional capabilities of
Member States in areas such as policy formulation, registration and management
systems, resource monitoring and assessment, and harvesting and post-harvesting
technologies;
(b) establishing mechanisms to provide assistance
in:
(i) the development, management and conservation
of the fisheries resources;
(ii) the discharge of obligations relating to
fisheries resources arising under Articles 62, 63 and 64 of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982).
(c) effective regional representation at international fora;
(d) establishing development programs for aquaculture;
(e) encouraging the establishment of protected
aquatic habitats and associated terrestrial areas and fish populations
for the sustainable development of fisheries resources of Member States;
and
(f) establishing, facilitating and strengthening
research and human resource development at the professional, technical
and vocational levels.
3. The Community shall collaborate with Member
States in:
(a) the management of straddling and highly migratory
fish stocks;
(b) ongoing surveillance of exclusive economic
zones of Member States;
(c) the delimitation of maritime boundaries; and
(d) safeguarding the marine environment of Member
States from pollutants and hazardous wastes.
4. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article
3 of this Protocol, the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR)
shall promote the establishment of a regime for the effective management,
conservation and utilization of the living resources of the exclusive economic
zones of Member States.
5. For the purpose of this Article, "fisheries
resources" includes all the fishable resources, natural and cultured, in
the inland and internal waters, territorial seas and the exclusive economic
zones of Member States."
ARTICLE X
Insert new Article to read
as follows:
"Article 49b
Forestry Management and Development
1. The Community shall, in collaboration with
national, regional and international agencies and organizations, promote
the development, management and conservation of the forest resources in
Member States on a sustainable basis.
2. The Community shall effect the promotion and
facilitation referred to in paragraph 1 by formulating policies and programs
for:
(a) the management of its forest resources;
(b) the integration of forestry development in
rural communities;
(c) enhancing the institutional capabilities of
Member States to design and implement forest management systems;
(d) establishing, facilitating and strengthening programs for
research and for human resource development at the professional,
technical and vocational levels;
(e) encouraging public and private sector participation
in the development and application of technology;
(f) providing incentives for forestry development
to stimulate domestic, regional and foreign investment in the forestry
sub-sector;
(g) harmonizing standards for quality assurance,
compatible with international specifications;
(h) promoting commercialization of natural forest
products in a sustainable manner; and
(i) undertaking national forest inventories.
3. For the purposes of this Article, "forestry
resources" are those natural assets of forest lands, including timber and
other forest products, biological diversity, recreation, fish and wildlife
habitat, wilderness, flora and fauna, air, water and soil."
ARTICLE XI
Insert new Article to read
as follows:
"Article 49c
Saving
The provisions of this Protocol are without prejudice
to obligations of Member States under existing international agreements."
ARTICLE XII
Signature
This Protocol shall be open for signature by the
Member States on the thirtieth day of June, 1998.
ARTICLE XIII
Ratification
This Protocol shall be subject to ratification
by signatory States in accordance with their respective constitutional
procedures. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretariat
which shall transmit certified copies to the Government of each Member
State.
ARTICLE XIV
Accession
Any Member State other than a signatory State
may accede to this Protocol. An Instrument of Accession shall take effect
on the date on which the Instrument is deposited with the Secretariat of
the Community.
ARTICLE XV
Entry Into Force
This Protocol shall enter into force one month
after the date on which the last instrument of ratification is deposited
with the Secretariat.
ARTICLE XVI
Provisional Application
1. A Member State may, upon the signing of this
Protocol or at any later date before it enters into force, declare its
intention to apply it provisionally.
2. Upon such declaration by all Member States,
the provisions of this Protocol shall be applied provisionally pending
its entry into force in accordance with Article XIV.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned duly authorized in that behalf
by their respective Governments have executed
this Protocol.
DONE at ______________________on the ___________________
day of ____________ 1998.
Signed by
for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda on the
day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Barbados on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of Belize on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Grenada on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of the Co-operative Republic
of Guyana on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Jamaica on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of Montserrat on the day of
1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis on the
day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Saint Lucia on the day of
1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of The Republic of Suriname
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of The Republic of Trinidad
and Tobago on the day of 1998 at
DECLARATION
The representatives of the under-mentioned Governments
hereby declare their intention to apply provisionally the provisions of
Protocol V:
Signed by
for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda on the
day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Barbados on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of Belize on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Grenada on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of the Co-operative Republic
of Guyana on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Jamaica on the day of 1998
at
Signed by
for the Government of Montserrat on the day of
1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis on the
day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of Saint Lucia on the day of
1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of The Republic of Suriname
on the day of 1998 at
Signed by
for the Government of The Republic of Trinidad
and Tobago on the day of 1998 at
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