By the Caribbean Journal staff

A group of 82 technicians from Haiti and the Dominican Republic participated this week in an advanced course on Agricultural Quarantine, part of renewed collaboration efforts between the two countries.

The course was sponsored by several international organizations, including the United States Department of Agriculture.

Part of the workshop included a programme involving nine Haitian technicians aimed at strengthening heath surveillance at border crossings.

Participants included experts from the WTO and countries throughout Latin America, the US and Europe.

The course was part of measures adopted by agricultural authorities to prevent the entry of pests and diseases at ports and airports, mostly along the Haitian-Dominican border.

It was the latest in a series of agricultural cooperation initiatives between the island neighbours, including a workshop on the cultivation of pineapples for students at the Agriculture School of Font Liberte and a workshop held at the Agricultural School of Cap Haitian on the production of hydroponic crops.