IN A bid to minimise the devastating impact of natural disasters on agriculture in the region, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has launched a $25.9 million Caribbean Hurricane Preparedness Project.
Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke and FAO country representative, Dr. Dunstan Campbell signed an agreement for the provision of the funds last Thursday at the Ministry's office, Hope Gardens, St. Andrew.
According to Dr. Campbell, the project is part of the FAO's thrust to redirect assistance from recovery to assisting regional countries in implementing mitigating strategies to minimise the effects of natural disasters on agriculture. "In the past we have been responding to disasters, now we are building the capacity to prepare for disasters so we do not lose as much or we would bounce back much faster," he said.
REGIONAL TRAINING
Dr. Campbell explained that "there will be regional training of the Ministries of Agriculture and we will be identifying sites here in Jamaica where we can put good agricultural practices to build their preparedness for disaster." In addition, he said "we will be dealing with things like construction of buildings, agricultural systems in terms of what to plant and when to plant and river training."
Mr. Clarke said this was important as many farmers did not know how to prepare for disasters. The Minister said the project was timely and necessary given Jamaica's own experience in which the agricultural sector suffered more than $6 billion in damage from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and a further $196 million in 2005 from Hurricanes Dennis and Emily. This is in addition to losses suffered as a result of droughts and fires.
Mr. Clarke explained that the decision to redirect aid to disaster preparedness was based on a risk management assessment by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), which recommended that the region move from being reactive to being proactive in responding to natural disasters.
AVAILABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION
Dr. Campbell noted that this programme of assistance would also involve the establishment of plant and seed banks in the respective Caribbean territories to allow for availability and distribution of plant material across the region to minimise disruption in flood supply after a hurricane or flood.
The project involves Jamaica, Cuba Haiti and Genada. It is to last for 18 months and will be used as a benchmark for extending disaster preparedness programmes in other Caribbean countries.
Last month the FAO, in partnership with the Italian Government, funded a five-day workshop to train regional agricultural stakeholders in managing irrigation technology to increase access to water.
"Water management as far as the FAO is concerned, is a major strategy towards achieving the objectives of food security and poverty alleviation," Dr. Campbell said.
The workshop focused on training regional agriculture stakeholders in managing and designing modern irrigation systems and land preparation as well as provide planting materials, chemicals and tools for farmers.
