With financial support from the Adaptation Fund, the government of Jamaica is embarking on a multimillion dollar project to improve the resilience of the agriculture sector:

A total of $47 million has been set aside to enhance the resilience of the agricultural sector and coastal areas.

The allocation for the work is outlined in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives.

The project aims to increase livelihood security of the population in targeted communities and the overall climate resilience of the agricultural sector.

Targets for the 2018/19 period include the design and installation of six rainwater harvesting systems; the installation of 50 on-farm drip irrigation systems; the establishment of six Land Husbandry Farmer Field Schools (LHFFS); approving and disbursing 20 production and productivity grants; and approving and disbursing 30 land husbandry grants.

Several achievements under the project as of December 2017 were the installation of 220 small-scale gravity drip irrigation systems, training of 30 extension officers in climate-smart land and water management techniques, the development of 33 irrigation schemes, the training of 1,500 farmers in knowledge and techniques on sustainable practices in land and water management, and more than 250 training sessions in climate-smart land husbandry practices were conducted.

The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.

Funding is being provided by the Government of Jamaica and the Adaptation Fund.

Via the Jamaica Information Service.

[Image: via FoodTank]