http://www.iicd.org daily 1 2007-06-08T01:33:14Z http://www.iicd.org/projects/articles/IICDprojects.import25 The worldwide popularity of Caribbean music genres such as salsa and reggae proves that there is an enthusiastic global market for this type of music. Yet so far the Caribbean music industry has struggled to represent, develop and promote its own music. As a result, the region has systematically failed to reap any financial rewards from its own music sales. The Caribbean Music Expo (CME) aims to address this problem by acting as a tool to develop music industry enterprises in the Dutch, French, English and Spanish-speaking territories of the Caribbean and promoting their music worldwide. Launched in 1999, this annual international four-day music industry trade show aims to be the world's leading Caribbean music event. Its multi-faceted format, with live concerts, an exhibition, business seminars, awards and a search for emerging talent provides an excellent showcase for the Caribbean music industry. As the first event of its kind in the region it is also an ideal platform through which the industry's many stakeholders can network, exchange information and present their latest products and services. No publisher admin 2006-08-03T15:09:04Z IICDproject http://www.iicd.org/projects/articles/IICDprojects.import24 The Jamaican Agricultural Sector is being challenged by the changes heralding the New World Order in which technological advances are being used to propel the industry and new trading arrangements are being imposed under the banner of globalization. Lack of adequate communication between the producers and the buyers has resulted in inadequate planning and ultimately an unstable market environment. This has led to increased importation of commodities, which are also locally produced, lack of information on improved production practices and increased competition in the marketplaces. It is therefore necessary to link all the relevant participants in the system in order to achieve a more structured and co-ordinated Agricultural Sector. The need for ICT was identified as a crucial component in the strategy for the improvement of the production and marketing of agricultural commodities and domestic food products in particular. The small farmers in Jamaica are being forced to identify more with the needs of the marketplace and improve their quality and productivity in order to compete especially on the local market but also in the export markets. No publisher admin 2005-02-09T11:35:34Z IICDproject http://www.iicd.org/projects/articles/IICDprojects.import14 The Caribbean music industry is grossly underdeveloped because most of the region's music producers operate through micro enterprises that are simply not up to the task of promoting local artistes and their music internationally. Consequently, Caribbean artists usually resort to the major mainstream record labels in North America and Europe for international exposure, even though these record labels often only produce their music as an occasional sideline. Caribbeat Entertainment Limited is a private, limited liability company set up in Jamaica in 1999 specifically to promote, distribute and represent Caribbean artistes and music producers using the latest ICT applications, particularly e-commerce and the Internet. Within six years it plans to develop and expand the Caribbean music industry to its full international potential. Its timing is excellent for two reasons: (1) the global demand for Caribbean music is set to rocket in the next five years; and, (2) Jamaica has just introduced a number of favourable tax and investment incentives for the entertainment industry. No publisher admin 2007-08-27T10:00:38Z IICDproject http://www.iicd.org/projects/articles/IICDprojects.import15 Domestic food crop production and marketing in Jamaica can be characterised as ad hoc, the unavailability of reliable information of the entire chain of activities has resulted in it's retardation. Producers of the primary product have limited access to information to inform choices such as appropriate inputs such as seeds, chemicals and technology, having to rely on the distributors of these products. The raw material requirements of agri-processors, hotels, exporters etc. are also not readily available to the producers which results in the importation of large quantities of primary and semi- processed goods. No publisher admin 2005-03-09T13:05:50Z IICDproject