TO HIGHLIGHT the importance of water and its relationship to food production, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has chosen as its theme this year, 'Water - Source of Food Security.'
"We are promoting the role of the FAO and this particular theme is chosen in conjunction with other international events and the FAO programmes," Hannah Clarendon, the FAO Representative in Jamaica, tells JIS News.
Miss Clarendon points out that since the beginning of this year, water has been at the centre of discussions in many countries, with special emphasis on 'World Water Day' in March. She adds that at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg recently, there were strong calls for programmes to ensure that everyone had access to potable water.
"So for the FAO, the theme this year is in keeping with the entire programme at the international level," Miss Clarendon said.
She notes that the FAO has been working with a number of agencies in Jamaica that are associated directly or indirectly with water, in terms of domestic water supply and irrigation. These include the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Forestry Division.
"This year is also the International Year of the Mountain, so everything is converging on water," Miss Clarendon points out.
She notes that whether on land or sea, people need water to sustain life. They need water for fishing, for drinking, to refresh themselves and to irrigate land for food production.
"We in agriculture want to get a middle-of-the-road position where we can manage water within the farming system, to use it efficiently and to make sure that farmers have access to it in their households and their fields in order to irrigate the land to give us food," Miss Clarendon says.
"So, from a food security point of view, this is critical and that is what the FAO is concentrating on this year," she adds.
Miss Clarendon explains that although there may be programmes on food security in the various countries, without water for irrigation the farmers will not be able to grow the foods that people require, and to rear livestock to provide meat and dairy products.
The FAO Representative with responsibility for the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica, Miss Clarendon explains that her role is to bring to the three countries, the entire programming of the FAO.
"I am responsible for channelling all those programmes that the FAO has to offer to the three countries. There is a national programmes officer based in Jamaica, a national correspondent based in Belize and Bahamas and our job is to bring that programming to bear on the projects in the country itself," she notes.
The FAO Representative says that in Jamaica there is an on-going programme on irrigation, and overseas consultants often come here to review projects with the National Irrigation Commission.
"We can give technical assistance in terms of designing and determining the way forward for the irrigation systems. We also give direct technical assistance and funding for technical co-operation projects," she explains.
She further explains that "if a group of farmers or a group of housewives in a particular community have an issue with food security, we might be able to identify a project to increase their productivity, to help them to transform a particular product or a particular technology to improve what they are doing, but it has to be directly related to food security," Miss Clarendon says.
The tele-food projects also involve school gardens and poultry rearing, and the organisation is looking at women's groups working on particular projects to ensure their own food security.
She points out that the FAO does not work on its own, but with several organisations involved in agriculture. It seeks to have agreement with those organisations in order to concentrate on particular areas. Citing an example, she said the FAO has an agreement with the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) to deal with food security, food safety and information.
Miss Clarendon says the FAO also work with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to achieve certain goals.
She points out that the FAO has completed several projects in Jamaica, including pepper and dairy projects, and is currently involved in the second phase of a coconut project. "Each of these projects costs US$25 million and runs for 24 months," she says. Miss Clarendon says a fisheries project is also on stream.
"We also have emergency projects when there are hurricanes or flooding. We respond with basic items such as seeds, fertilisers, tools and equipment to assist farmers in recovering their losses," she says.
Miss Clarendon says one of the major goals of the FAO is the identification of critical elements that are key to increased agricultural productivity in Jamaica and other countries.
