Webinar Series on Agri-Food Trade Promotion to CARICOM 2025
accompanied by complementary material in links and PDF that participants can consult at their own pace on the web platform.
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 webinar series aims to train marketing and sales managers and general managers of agricultural, family farming cooperatives and MSME organizations in CARICOM member countries, management leaders in family farming organizations, cooperatives and rural agri-food MSMEs in foreign trade, internationalization, commercial strategies and e-commerce and negotiations.
Course overview
Name: Webinar series on Agri-Food Trade Promotion to CARICOM
Course Type: Virtual course
Course Length: Six weeks: from November 5 to December 17, 2025. Aprox. 15 chronological hours.
Course Modality and Methodology:
The course is divided into four modules and includes 6 live webinars: modules 1 and 2 have two webinars each, while modules 3 and 4, two each. All the webinars must be held synchronously, with mandatory attendance. The videos and materials for each session will be added to the course page as we progress, along with supplementary reference material. A forum will be opened for each webinar, where participants must participate by answering questions related to the topic, which will be posted by the tutor.
The total duration of the course is six weeks: from November 5 to December 17, 2025. At the end of the six webinars, attendees must complete a final questionnaire, which will allow them to download their corresponding certificate.
Start and end dates: The course starts on 5th November 2025 and finishes on 17th December 2025.
Target audience:
- Marketing and sales managers and general managers of agricultural, family farming cooperatives and MSME organizations in CARICOM member countries.
- Potential Partners: CARICOM Secretariat, International Trade Center - ITC, Caribbean Export Development Agency, CARICOM Private Sector Organization, IICA, national government foreign trade agents (Customs Services, Ministries of Foreign Trade, Agriculture
and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulation and Control Agencies, among others). - Geographical target: 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.
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.
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:
DOWNLOAD FULL CONTENTS IN PDF HERE
MODULE | CONTENTS | DURATION |
Module 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. | Thursday, |
Module | Non-tariff requirements. Food safety. Trade certifications (sustainability, VSS, bio, etc.). | Thursday, |
Module | Market intelligence. Business plan design. International negotiations. Good practices for business closings. | Thursday, |
Case Studies: AF experience – Cooperatives. | Tuesday, | |
Module | Transportation logistics. Digitalization and e-commerce. | Thursday, |
Main export promotion tools. Establishment of export costs and sources of financing. | Thursday, | |
Closing | Time to catch up on participation in the forums for each webinar and to submit the final assessment. | December 10 to 17, 2025 |
TOTAL | Six weeks: From November 5 to December 17, 2025 | |
Language: The course will be taught entirely in English.
Better to which it belongs: BN5: Transparent markets and trade.
Responsible Officer: Pablo Rabczuk – Political Affairs and Liaison
Officer Technical team:
- Pablo Rabczuk – Principal Programme Official and Head of Cabinet to the Regional Representative, FAO
- Camilo Navarro – Agri-food International Market Specialist
- Cosimo Avesani – Trade Policy Analyst
Contact: For additional inquiries, please contact: rlc-capacitacion@fao.org
*This course is part of a training pathway consisting of the following courses: “Agriculture in International Trade Agreements (AITA)”; “Trade, Food Security and Nutrition (TFSN)”, and “Webinar Series on Agri-Food Trade Promotion”. Upon completion of
all three, you can obtain a fourth certificate that indicates that you have fulfilled the entire learning journey.