President calls for ‘climate-smart agriculture’

Agricultural produce from Dominica
Agricultural produce from Dominica

In light of the ever-changing global climate, President of Dominica, His Excellency Charles Savarin, has called for Dominicans to commit to climate-smart agriculture.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has been defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as ‘an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems, to effectively support development, and ensure food security in a changing climate’.

CSA aims to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes, to adapt and build resilience to climate change, and to decrease greenhouse gas emissions where possible.

Addressing the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament, on Tuesday, Savarin insisted that “no effort should be spared in determining how these principles can be integrated into agricultural production as we go on rebuilding that sector.”

He advised that different agricultural practices be explored and implemented to withstand the changing climate.

“In that regard, we need to reduce our dependence on rain-fed agriculture, as the patterns of rainfall fluctuate between drought and deluge,” Savarin explained. “We need to look more and more at irrigation, greenhouse technology, aqua culture, mariculture, and hydroponics.”

Savarin also stated that Britain’s vote to exit the European Union (EU) could provide an opportunity for the expansion of Dominica’s agricultural market.

“…the UK’s ties to the commonwealth Caribbean could become stronger, and we could see the re-establishment of a presence for Caribbean agricultural products—fresh as well as processed—in the UK’s market, as the common agricultural policy of the European Union would no longer apply after the United Kingdom actually exits the European Union,” he explained.

In the June 2016 referendum, in a movement commonly known as Brexit, the British people voted by 52-percent to leave the EU. The exit vote shocked many, including then-Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron, who subsequently announced his resignation.

In June, Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, said that the repercussions of Brexit would be felt almost immediately in Dominica, as the EU would be losing a large chunk of its budget and would have to restructure its whole approach to financing and development assistance. He noted that Dominica depends heavily on foreign aid.

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6 Comments

  1. Awaiting remarks/rebuttle to Pres Statement fr J St.Jean
    July 28, 2016

    St Jean the Latent Dominican hiding in the misty woods of PA. Here is your platform to speak up after your fiasco on ” most People who have their legs Amputated die soon after”
    Agri is your speciality even if You have not planted a lettuce head on your balcony in Philly.
    Give it your all. Like Eddie said on his/u all’s first Independence celebration in Nov 1995 ” We are on Stage and in-charge.” remember than occasion b4 you left?
    Give us your take as ur LL ur leader loved to say on WHAT ABOUT back then.
    He also loved “Add your 5cents piece. The board is all’J St.Jean’s.
    Blast bro!

  2. Concerned
    July 28, 2016

    In that regard, we need to reduce our dependence on rain-fed agriculture, as the patterns of rainfall fluctuate between drought and deluge,” Savarin explained. “We need to look more and more at irrigation, greenhouse technology, aqua culture, mariculture, and hydroponics.”

    With all due respect Mr. Savarin, how do we even begin to do this? You know that it is small scale farming that is practiced on the island and for many the farms are not located where there is pipe borne water. How do we even begin to do this? How many can afford a greenhouse or even understand how the other types of agriculture is done? Is government willing to give financial aid to individuals? To get money from the government for any agricultural venture you need to belong to a group or need to fill out so many forms that in the end you give up.

    I would like to go back to agriculture but what assistance is given to people on the south East of the island. Where are the roads?

  3. I wonder from where this information was plagiarized?

    Here it is as found from a public source, as matter of fact Grenada was mentioned, Dominica is not part of it!

    The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a member of the CGIAR Consortium, has developed seven Climate-Smart Agriculture Country Profiles and two sub-national ones, prepared with the active participation of government ministries and agencies as well as representatives of the private sector and civil society.
    Each profile sets the baseline in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for all or part of one of these seven countries: Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Grenada, Mexico, and Peru.

    The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects an ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. It aims to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. CSA initiatives sustainably increase…

    • Continue:

      CSA initiatives sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce/remove greenhouse gases (GHGs), and require planning to address tradeoffs and synergies between these three pillars: productivity, adaptation, and mitigation [1].

      The priorities of different countries and stakeholders are reflected to achieve more efficient, effective, and equitable food systems that address challenges in environmental, social, and economic dimensions across productive landscapes. While the concept is new, and still evolving, many of the practices that make up CSA already exist worldwide and are used by farmers to cope with various production risks [2].

      Mainstreaming CSA requires critical stocktaking of ongoing and promising practices for the future, and of institutional and financial enablers for CSA adoption. These country profiles provide snapshots of a developing baseline created to initiate discussion, both within countries and globally,

      • So what Savarin is acting as if it is idea, and you can find that when he quoted the definition; if that was his idea, and no one had ever heard of Climate-smart Agriculture.

        Someone should ask him if the imported banana plants imported from France the ones which does not produced suckers (slips) to be planted. Ask Savarin, if those genetically altered plants id part of his program?

  4. Memory
    July 27, 2016

    Climate smart Agriculture eh? This so much the Reason why the Government must allocate much More millions of dollars to THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE. I happy that you guys are aware of the importance of Agriculture in Dominica.
    To think this comes from the President Savarin it is no secret to for he knows the importance of Agriculture in Dominica
    In the year 1979 when the Civil Servants Association, joined the then Dominica Freedom Party under the leadership of the now deceased Mary Eugenia Charles, to destabilize and then overthrow the then Dominica Labour Party under the leadership of the First Prime Minister Patrick.R. John, it was The Agriculture industry that up held those two organizations by BRINGING FOOD TO THE GROUNDS OF THE GOODWILL PARISH HALL YARD TO FEED THE ROSEAU PEOPLE FOR FREE.YOUR PRESENT P.M. Was a boy somewhere in Dominica and so were many of you who are satisfied that they killed Agriculture. Now HE CHARLES SAVARIN TALKING ABOUT SMART AGRICULTURE…. HOW BRAZEN.

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