Through the devoted presentation of the Caribbean regional proposal on the Hand-in-Hand Initiative (HiH) Funding Discussion board, held from 15 to 17 October in Rome, Italy, FAO Director-Common QU Dongyu careworn the significance of collaboration in tackling the crucial challenges going through the Caribbean. He highlighted the necessity to strengthen efforts in addressing urgent points akin to local weather change, water shortage, poverty, and the area’s lack of resilience, whereas underscoring the important position that irrigation performs in fostering sustainability within the Caribbean.
Following the Director-Common’s remarks, Shaun Baugh, CARICOM’s Program Supervisor for Agricultural Improvement, delivered a compelling joint funding proposal from the FAO and the Caribbean Group (CARICOM) targeted on Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The proposal is centered on leveraging digitalization in irrigation methods to drive progress.
Baugh highlighted the inhabitants figures of Barbados (over 208,000), Jamaica (2.8 million), and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (110,000), drawing consideration to their heavy dependence on imported meals. Barbados imports 80% of its meals, Jamaica 45%, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 68%. He additionally famous that Barbados’ meals import invoice quantities to USD 408.5 million, whereas Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ stands at USD 217 million. These challenges, he argued, provide vital alternatives to spice up native meals manufacturing, improve the agricultural sector, and entice funding to the area.
The funding alternatives introduced by Baugh targeted on enhancing irrigation infrastructure by using floor water and selling, sustainable options akin to akin to digitalized drip irrigation methods, digitalized drip irrigation methods, and Ultrasonic Volumetric Meters. Moreover, the proposal emphasizes strengthening farmers capacities to handle irrigation methods and gear successfully. The entire funding, valued at USD 21 million, is designed to learn 635 farmer households and 4,000 people throughout Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Following the presentation, a panel dialogue was held, moderated by Dr. Renata Clarke, FAO’s Sub-regional Coordinator. The panel featured Hon. Indar Weir, Minister of Agriculture and Meals Safety in Barbados; Hon. Floyd Inexperienced, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining in Jamaica; Pablo Bartol, Social and Human Improvement Supervisor at CAF – Improvement Financial institution of Latin America and the Caribbean; and Mr. Edward Bresnyan Jr., Senior Agriculture Economist on the World Financial institution.
Through the dialogue, Hon. Indar Weir emphasised the crucial position of water in agriculture, stating that, “Agriculture is not going to work with out water. Given the severity of those occasions early within the season, we should acknowledge the necessity to speed up to implement agricultural manufacturing methods which are much less water intensive, in order that we are able to higher handle throughout dry seasons. On the identical time, we should seize the chance to spend money on water storage options, particularly contemplating the floods that happen in the course of the occasions. This presents one the best alternatives for funding in irrigation”.
Hon. Floyd Inexperienced famous that Jamaica skilled a USD 370 million loss to its agri-food system on account of Hurricane Beryl, which struck early within the hurricane season. He added, “90 p.c of our farmers are small scale, working on lower than one acre of land, making entry to inexpensive water essential. The Caribbean faces vital challenges in securing investments for agriculture, so we’re significantly grateful to FAO for this funding alternative”.
Through the panel dialogue, Edward Bresnyan Jr. emphasised the assorted efforts to assist farming within the CARICOM area, akin to, conducting analytical work targeted on bettering resilience, enhancing vitamin safety and bettering competitiveness. All of that is significantly related within the context of irrigation. Some examples, drip irrigation, lined agriculture utilizing greenhouses, and initiatives in water basins to guard water sources.
Fellow panelist, Pablo Bartol careworn the significance of financial stability for agricultural funding, stating, “The stabilization of native currencies is a requirement for investments. Steady water provision can also be important for funding within the agriculture system. With out a secure foreign money, funding is not going to stream into international locations”.
Through the closing remarks, Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-Common of CARICOM, expressed her appreciation for the discussions, stating, “FAO and the Caribbean group share a long-standing partnership that helps the bilateral relationship FAO maintains with every of our member states. CARICOM acknowledges the Hand-in-Hand Initiative as a beneficial instrument for eradicating obstacles to agricultural improvement. We respect the assist of the governments, improvement companions, and the personal sector in selling extra focused agricultural investments and implementing insurance policies that foster resilient, sustainable and productive agrifood methods”.
