A whole lot of farmer households in Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines may gain advantage from strengthening their capacities to handle irrigation techniques and gear successfully.
Throughout 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-Normal QU Dongyu burdened the significance of collaboration in tackling the vital challenges dealing with the Caribbean. He highlighted the necessity to strengthen efforts in addressing urgent points comparable to local weather change, water shortage, poverty, and the area’s lack of resilience, whereas underscoring the important function that irrigation performs in fostering sustainability within the Caribbean.
Following the Director-Normal’s remarks, Shaun Baugh, CARICOM’s Program Supervisor for Agricultural Improvement, delivered a compelling joint funding proposal from the FAO and the Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) targeted on Barbados, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The proposal is centered on leveraging digitalization in irrigation techniques 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 important alternatives to spice up native meals manufacturing, improve the agricultural sector, and appeal to funding to the area.
The funding alternatives offered by Baugh targeted on enhancing irrigation infrastructure by using floor water and selling, sustainable options comparable to comparable to digitalized drip irrigation techniques, digitalized drip irrigation techniques, and Ultrasonic Volumetric Meters. Moreover, the proposal emphasizes strengthening farmers capacities to handle irrigation techniques and gear successfully. The overall 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 Indar Weir, Minister of Agriculture and Meals Safety in Barbados; 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 Edward Bresnyan Jr., Senior Agriculture Economist on the World Financial institution.
Throughout the dialogue, Weir emphasised the vital function of water in agriculture, stating that, “Agriculture won’t 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 techniques which might be much less water intensive, in order that we will higher handle throughout dry seasons. On the similar time, we should seize the chance to spend money on water storage options, particularly contemplating the floods that happen throughout the occasions. This presents one the best alternatives for funding in irrigation”.
Inexperienced famous that Jamaica skilled a USD 370 million loss to its agri-food system because 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 important challenges in securing investments for agriculture, so we’re significantly grateful to FAO for this funding alternative”.
Throughout the panel dialogue, Edward Bresnyan Jr. emphasised the assorted efforts to help farming within the CARICOM area, comparable to, conducting analytical work targeted on enhancing resilience, enhancing diet safety and enhancing 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 burdened the significance of financial stability for agricultural funding, stating, “The stabilization of native currencies is a requirement for investments. Steady water provision can be important for funding within the agriculture system. With out a secure forex, funding won’t movement into nations”.
Throughout the closing remarks, Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-Normal of CARICOM, expressed her appreciation for the discussions, stating, “FAO and the Caribbean neighborhood 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 worthwhile instrument for eradicating boundaries to agricultural improvement. We recognize the help 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 techniques”.
