Thousands of smallholding farmers in Jamaica will be exposed to training on the use of climate-smart practices and information communications technology in agriculture:

Under the project, dubbed ‘Accelerating the Uptake of Climate-smart Agriculture in selected African, Caribbean and Pacific countries’, to be implemented in three beneficiary countries – Jamaica, Mali and Ethiopia – the training will be conducted over a two-year period.

The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA), based in the Netherlands. The launch of the Jamaican component was held yesterday. It will be executed through a partnership involving the CTA, the Climate Change Division in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

The project is aimed at promoting the incorporation of information communications technology (ICT) tools as an element of climate-smart agriculture and the widespread adoption of climate-smart practices that are aligned with national priorities. This is in an effort to improve the resilience of the agriculture sector, enhance productivity and food security, and secure the income of smallholder farmers, the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation advised in a press release.

In welcoming the partnership, principal director in the ministry, Una May Gordon, explained that promoting the use of climate-smart agriculture will go a far way in the resilience-building effort and improving food security.

Read more in the original report from the Jamaica Gleaner.

[Image: Laura Raccio/UNDP Jamaica.]