Ladies and gentlemen, the vulnerability of the Caribbean States necessitates continuous investments in disaster risk reduction capacity and capability building if we are to retard or reverse the epidemic of hazard related losses we have experienced over the last decade. To this end, CDEMA wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Brazil in contributing to the convening of today’s capacity building workshop for disaster risk management in the agricultural sector. The Government of Brazil is the newest partner of CDEMA in its efforts to broker Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in the region.