Efforts are now being intensified to increase the awareness and competencies of the region's farmers in disaster risk management in a bid to reduce the severity of the impact of natural disasters on the agricultural sector.

A regional workshop on improving preparedness of emergency assistance to the agicultural sector began Monday with stakeholders of the region's agricultural sector at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, St. Andrew.

The technical workshop, which is the final of several workshops held in four Caribbean countries, reviewed and selected the best disaster risk management practices submitted from the various Caribbean territories (Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and Grenada) and identified key linkages and gaps in existing disaster risk management frameworks at the national and community levels in the agricultural sector.

Funding

Dr. Dunstan Campbell, country representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for Jamaica, The Bahamas and Belize, said funding was currently being sought to implement the disaster risk management practices coming out of the workshop.

Jeremy Collymore, coordinator of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) based in Barbados, emphasised the importance of putting in place an adequate disaster risk management plan given that "the emerging transboundary threats of climate, avian flu and other exotic diseases require that the lethargy in disaster management practice in this sector be shed with urgency."

He argued that "investment in disaster loss reduction in the sector has been relatively marginal" and stressed that "it may well be a reflection of the disparity in investment observed in rural-urban development."

Mr. Collymore said priority attention should be given to the implementation of a regional agricultural insurance scheme to benefit small farmers.

Mr. Collymore pointed out that the region's agricultural sector was affected by drought, flood, landslide, earthquake, toxic spills and epidemics, and therefore required a multi-hazard approach of utilising the skills of an interdisciplinary team.