Caribbean countries analyze the benefits of climate-smart agriculture

Castries, Saint Lucia. Over 180 people involved in the agricultural sector of 13 Caribbean countries participated in the first Caribbean Forum on Climate-Smart Agriculture, held in Saint Lucia, in order to promote and support options for adapting the Caribbean agricultural sector to climate change.

Members of associations of producers, civil servants, researchers and representatives of academia participated in the meeting and expressed their satisfaction at the end of the forum.

“This forum was an excellent opportunity to share the most up-to-date information and best practices for adapting resilient production systems to the Caribbean region,” stated Kervin Stephenson, Project Specialist at the IICA Office in Saint Lucia.

The meeting was organized by IICA, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

The attendees participated actively in the discussion of topics such as pest and disease control, germplasm improvement, water and soil management, public investment, policies and laws on food and environmental protection.

They also held discussions on the importance of improving infrastructure and the sustainable management of water, which, in order to be addressed, require actions in the form of information and communication, favorable policies, capacity-building, introduction of innovations, and resource mobilization.

Each entity presented an overview of the work it was carrying out in this area: for example, IICA’s strategy based on resiliency and the comprehensive management of environmental risks, the initiative led by GIZ to adopt better practices for dealing with the effects of climate change, and the FAO’s “Climate-Smart Agriculture” strategy.

In addition, the CCCCC presented forecasts of climate change over the next few years and its expected effects on agriculture, and CARDI spoke about its efforts to create mitigation and adaptation policies as well as technical strategies.

“We hope to be able to count on committed stakeholders to support the integration of climate change considerations into policies and research, and to foster institutional and cross-sectoral coordination of actions for the agricultural sector,” stated Stephenson.

More information:
kelly.witkowski@iica.int 
kervin.stephenson@iica.int