Caribbean Export to pitch three agro-processing projects to investors at CIF 2026

TRELAWNY, Jamaica — The Caribbean Export Development Agency is taking a more targeted approach to attracting investment into agriculture, with three agro-processing projects to be pitched to investors at the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) 2026 in Bridgetown, Barbados, next week. Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Export Development Agency Damie Sinanan said the projects represent an initial effort to demonstrate how investment-ready ventures can be packaged and presented to international and regional capital providers, as the Caribbean seeks to strengthen its food security. Investors, business leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs are scheduled to gather in Bridgetown from October 5 to 7 for CIF 2026. Speaking Friday at the Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny on the final day of the six-day Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2026, Sinanan said the agency was deliberately seeking to move beyond broad appeals for investment by developing specific opportunities that investors could assess. "So, Caribbean Export Development Agency... we try to encourage investment into the region, especially in the area of agriculture and food, because we have to improve our food security," he said. Sinanan said the three agro-processing ventures would be showcased at the Barbados forum as part of that strategy. "This year the Caribbean Investment Forum will be held next week in Bridgetown, Barbados. We have three agro-processing projects that we're going to present to investors," he said. While acknowledging that the initiative is modest in scale, he said its significance lies in establishing a model that could be expanded across the region. "It's a small drop in the bucket, yes, but it creates a model that can work for attracting investment in the agriculture sector in the Caribbean region," Sinanan said. He was making the presentation ahead of participating in a plenary session themed: "Practical Building Blocks for Export Expansion", where discussions focused on measures required to help Caribbean businesses increase their presence in international markets. Sinanan said investment attraction was only one component of the agency's wider effort to build the region's productive and export capacity. He pointed to work in other areas. "These are some of the things that we're doing in the other areas in terms of standard certification, marketing promotion, access to finance, and really working with our investment promotion partners, JAMPRO included, to really attract investment into the Caribbean region," he said.