Know what each consultation session will ask you to consider.
These participant briefing notes explain the purpose, focus and validation questions for all six sessions. Read them online or download the PDF version to prepare your contribution.
The revised CAYAB Institutional Framework and an introduction to the Local Agriculture First Policy (LAFP).
Purpose
Launch the consultation series, establish a shared understanding of CAYAB's proposed institutional arrangements and introduce the policy principles that will be tested throughout the six sessions.
Why this matters
Regional youth participation needs credible governance, clear responsibilities and a practical policy pathway. This session establishes the foundation on which all later discussions depend.
What the session will examine
CAYAB's mandate, evolution and proposed governance arrangements
Membership, leadership, accountability and institutional relationships
The problem the LAFP is intended to address
The proposed relationship between youth governance, local production and market access
Questions participants will help answer
Does the proposed framework give CAYAB a credible and representative foundation?
Are the roles, relationships and accountability arrangements sufficiently clear?
Do the proposed LAFP principles respond to the realities facing Caribbean producers?
What must be revised before either proposal advances?
How to prepare
Read the Session 1 controlled consultation documents available on the series page.
Identify one governance issue and one market-access issue that should be addressed.
Be prepared to distinguish support, required revisions and matters needing further review.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
Local procurement, supplier readiness, certification and market access.
Purpose
Test the LAFP's proposed procurement and market-access provisions and identify practical ways to create more dependable demand for Caribbean agricultural products.
Why this matters
Farmers and agrifood enterprises are more likely to invest and expand when they can see reliable demand, understand buyer requirements and compete through fair and transparent processes.
What the session will examine
Institutional and public procurement as a source of predictable demand
Supplier readiness, certification and proportionate standards
Fair access for youth, small producers and cooperatives
Buyer-supplier relationships, contracting and payment constraints
Questions participants will help answer
Which institutions and buyers should be prioritised?
What minimum supplier-readiness requirements are realistic and fair?
How can procurement systems avoid excluding youth and smaller producers?
What market barriers must be addressed alongside the policy?
How to prepare
Consider the purchasing practices of schools, hospitals, hotels and other institutions in your country.
Identify the most common reasons local producers struggle to supply formal buyers.
Bring examples of procurement or market-access approaches that have worked.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
Aggregation hubs, cold chains, storage, logistics and producer coordination.
Purpose
Validate the infrastructure and logistics proposals needed to move reliable volumes of safe, high-quality Caribbean products from producers to buyers.
Why this matters
Procurement commitments cannot succeed when producers lack aggregation, storage, cooling, transport and coordinated delivery. Market infrastructure turns demand into transactions.
What the session will examine
Aggregation and collection hubs
Cold storage, packhouses and post-harvest management
Transport, logistics and inter-island movement
Ownership, management and access models for shared infrastructure
Questions participants will help answer
Which infrastructure gaps cause the greatest losses or missed sales?
Who should own, manage and maintain shared facilities?
How can youth, women and small producers obtain fair access?
Which investments should be prioritised first?
How to prepare
Map the main physical or logistical bottleneck affecting producers in your context.
Consider existing facilities that could be upgraded or better coordinated.
Bring practical lessons about management, maintenance and affordability.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
Supplier information, procurement dashboards, market data, monitoring and responsible data governance.
Purpose
Validate the digital and monitoring systems needed to improve participation, transparency, coordination and evidence-based implementation.
Why this matters
Decision-makers need trustworthy data, while producers need accessible systems and clear safeguards. Digital tools should reduce friction and improve accountability rather than create new barriers.
What the session will examine
Voluntary supplier and stakeholder registries
Procurement, delivery and payment dashboards
Market information and production-planning tools
Privacy, consent, access roles, monitoring and public accountability
Questions participants will help answer
What information is genuinely necessary for implementation?
Who should control, access and safeguard the data?
Which results should be visible through public reporting?
How can low-connectivity and low-digital-literacy users participate?
How to prepare
Consider the information producers, buyers and policymakers each require.
Identify digital-access or data-quality challenges in your country.
Bring examples of simple tools that improve transparency without overburdening users.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
Institutional roles, regional coordination, partnerships, resource mobilisation and alignment with existing initiatives.
Purpose
Test the institutional arrangements and partnership mechanisms required to move the LAFP from a regional proposal into coordinated implementation.
Why this matters
The policy crosses agriculture, procurement, standards, trade, finance, youth development and data. Implementation will depend on clear ownership and coordinated action across institutions.
What the session will examine
National, regional and partner responsibilities
Coordination and decision-making mechanisms
Technical assistance, financing and resource mobilisation
Alignment with existing CARICOM and partner initiatives
Questions participants will help answer
Which institution should lead each major area of implementation?
What coordination mechanism would be practical and accountable?
Which partnerships and resources are essential?
How should the LAFP complement rather than duplicate existing work?
How to prepare
Identify the institutions already working on procurement, markets or youth agriculture.
Consider where mandates overlap or important responsibilities are unassigned.
Bring one partnership opportunity and one coordination risk.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
Final validation, priority recommendations, document revision and the implementation roadmap.
Purpose
Review what was heard across the series, validate the main recommendations and agree on the next steps for finalising and advancing the CAYAB Institutional Framework and LAFP.
Why this matters
Consultation has value only when recommendations are transparently considered, decisions are recorded and responsibilities for follow-through are clear.
What the session will examine
Key findings and areas of agreement from Sessions 1-5
The stakeholder recommendation and disposition process
Priority revisions to the two consultation documents
Implementation sequencing, responsibilities and follow-up
Questions participants will help answer
Do the findings accurately reflect the consultation?
Which recommendations are essential before finalisation?
Are the proposed priorities, responsibilities and timelines realistic?
What commitments are stakeholders prepared to carry forward?
How to prepare
Review the issues raised in the sessions you attended.
Identify the three recommendations you consider most important.
Be ready to confirm support, propose a revision or record a reason for further review.
What to expect
The 120-minute session includes opening remarks, a keynote address, a technical presentation, youth discussants, moderated regional discussion, validation questions and a summary of recommendations.
Participants may support a proposal, recommend a revision or identify an issue requiring further technical review.
The CAYAB Institutional Framework and Local Agriculture First Policy remain consultation proposals. Publication of a briefing note does not constitute formal adoption or approval.
