By: Staff Writer
October 8, 2024
Senior Agriculture professions highlight the need for climate awareness for a sustainable agriculture future at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture being held in St Vincent and the Grenadines this week.
Dr Muhammad Ibrahim, director for technical cooperation at the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), said at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture opening ceremony that: “This 18th edition of the Caribbean week of agriculture is held here in St Vincent and Grenadines under the theme, climate smart agriculture and sustainable future.
“This theme draws to attention the extreme vulnerability of the region to hydro meteorological event hazards, in particular extreme weather events, rising surface and sea temperatures, seasonal shifts in the impacts in productive sectors. Another time when we have experienced the highest temperature in 2023 if you look at the data, that was the highest temperature record on the planet.”
Ibrahim added: “It highlights the need for scaling up adaptation and mitigation strategies geared towards building the resilience vectors and agri-food systems. Today, globally, there is a global discussion of how to transform the food systems to attend the planetary crisis being climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“The integration of nature-based solutions and technology to mitigate shocks and leverage innovative approaches to agri-systems such as regenerative agriculture, under option of these climate smart practices with the emphasis on bio economy, will create new opportunities for the future management and diversification of our socio economic development prospects.”
Ibrahim further called for the establishment of a damage and loss fund for small developing states, further underscoring the need for a change in the climate finance paradigm.
Dr Renata Clarke, Sub-Regional Coordinator, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, also said: “Whenever CWA comes around, it’s impossible not to think of all of the opportunities for discussing and networking.
We are all in touch in one way or another throughout the year, but there is something powerful about this physical presence for collective reflection and acceleration of that learning process, putting into place supporting each other to achieve more than we’ve achieved so far.”
She continued: “The task is too great for us not to be cognizant of what each other are doing and finding a way to line ourselves up to help deliver the most that can be delivered. And this is a place that can be seeding that collaboration, not just a mechanical connection of activities, but really a thoughtful reflection, thinking about what others are doing and how you can how you can add energy to it, and how they can add value to yours.”