FAO, Canada launch $14.6M climate-smart farm project

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in partnership with the Canadian government, has launched a $14.6 million project aimed at making Caribbean agriculture more resilient to climate change while empowering the region’s women and young people.

The four-year project, titled Gender Responsive Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems in the Caribbean, is scheduled to run until December 2028. It represents a major commitment under Canada’s feminist international assistance policy, according to Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados Lilian Chatterjee.

“We recognise the disproportionate impact of food and input price inflation, supply chain disruptions, and climate change in the Caribbean, which has exacerbated pre-existing food insecurity,” said High Commissioner Chatterjee at the regional launch event on Monday. The project was originally announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Canada-CARICOM summit last October.

The Canadian high commissioner highlighted that empowering women and closing gender gaps in agri-food systems is key to delivering on the sustainable development goals, as she described women as “powerful agents of change” who can actively contribute to achieving sustainable and resilient agri-food systems.

The project aims to influence the institutional governance of agriculture development programmes at regional and national levels through developing knowledge products such as policy briefs on inclusive, gender-responsive climate-resilient value chains in selected Caribbean countries.

It will also address challenges faced by producers, processors and farmer organisations along the value chain, including weak business planning and limited access to finance.

Renata Clarke, the FAO’s subregional coordinator for the Caribbean, emphasised the project’s focus on women and youth empowerment, noting its alignment with the organisation’s work on transforming value chain development in the sub-region.

Project coordinator Vermaran Exravour outlined goals such as facilitating the improvement of community facilities using climate-smart renewable energies and climate-resilient tools and technologies to improve food quality and reduce loss and waste.

“Our main focus is the adoption of gender-responsive climate-smart technologies, innovations and practices through the agricultural value chain from production to marketing,” said Exravour, adding that a key aim is to build the capacity of women and youth producer organisations to run viable businesses within those value chains.

Exravour, an international value chain expert, outlined a goal to facilitate the improvement of community facilities by using climate-smart renewable energies and climate-resilient tools and technologies to improve the quality of food and to reduce the loss and waste.

The project also seeks to increase market access for beneficiaries, with Exravour stating: “We want to work with our women and youth producer organisations to build their capacity, not just to be participants, but to watch viable businesses within those chains to improve their market access and also their ability to access finance and credit.”

Since 2017, Global Affairs Canada has disbursed over $2.5 billion in agriculture and food programming globally, according to Canadian envoy Chatterjee. She expressed an expectation that this new project will complement other efforts to strengthen agricultural entrepreneurship and food systems in the region. (SM)

“We are committed to supporting Caribbean governments, farmers, and entrepreneurs to advance climate-smart agriculture, sustainable agri-food value chains, and inclusive food system governance towards building just and sustainable agri-food systems across the region,” the high commissioner said.

Enhancing regional agricultural capacity, especially through a climate-smart and gender-responsive approach, is seen as crucial for improving food security and resilience. Engaging women and youth as key drivers is a core focus given their importance in Caribbean agriculture and food systems.

The FAO-Canada initiative will work across eight Eastern Caribbean countries initially. Precise implementation plans and rollout timelines were not immediately available.

“We started this process by taking a very deep dive into our value chain work and where we provide support across the eight member states,” said the FAO’s Exravour. “We have looked at each of those member states, met with senior officers in the planning unit, and have identified where our major interventions have had an impact over the last two years,” she said, adding that with this intel, they have begun a process to identify the entry points for the initiative. (SM)