Agriculture Ministry Seeks Green Climate Fund (GCF) Assistance

Agriculture Ministry Seeks Green Climate Fund (GCF) Assistance

Permanent Secretary (Ag.) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Ms. Susan Shurland said Climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world.

The effects of climate change spans far and wide from increasing temperatures to reduced food and water availability. She said that the Ministry continues to engage in initiatives that would mitigate against these threats for a better future.

Ms. Shurland added, as a result there have been a collaborative effort from the   Agriculture Ministry, the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Food and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to obtain assistance from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on a proposed Initiative, titled ‘“Improving the monitoring system for climate change impacts on the Agriculture Sector in Trinidad and Tobago. This initiative she said, should accelerate several other opportunities – all aimed at mitigating the effect of climate change, especially in the agriculture sector.

The Project Objectives will include:

 

1. to develop a framework for collection and analysis of agricultural and associated activity data that includes:-
   • food import dependency;
   • hydrological and meteorological data that allows for visualization and assessment of greenhouse gas emissions; as well as
   • reporting on gender sensitive climate impacts on agriculture and food systems; and
2. to build the capacity of key stakeholders to use agricultural, hydrological and meteorological data to improve resilience to climate change, including through the development of mobile phone applications.

 

The Permanent Secretary (Ag.) added, that there will be tremendous benefits arising out of this project. This framework she said is just one solution to the issue. “Further opportunities will also arise out of this project which will drive the agriculture sector into a modern adaptive sector that can weather the impact of climate change. Farmers will also benefit as they would be able to make better decisions in the cultivation of their crops. Extension officers would benefit as they can improve in their duties by offering technical advice based on the results of the project” she said.

 

Ms. Shurland, Permanent Secretary, (Ag.) was delivering her remarks at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Thursday 6^th February at an event: Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change on the Agriculture Sector in T&T.

The event was facilitated by the Ministry of Planning and Development, as the National Designated Authority for the Green Climate Fund in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries   (MALF) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

 

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