September 23, 2024
Ansari Hosein
Executive Director
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI)
The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is pleased to participate in the 18th Caribbean Week of Agriculture, being hosted from 7 – 11 October, 2024 in the scenic breadbasket of the Southern Caribbean – St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The theme ‘Climate Smart Agriculture for a Sustainable Future’ is indeed relevant to the Regional context as climate change remains one of our most significant developmental challenges. Over the last nine months we have all experienced the vagaries of climate from extreme heat spells, prolonged droughts and water shortages to intense rainfall and floods – all destabilizing our food systems and disrupting production, access and availability. Indeed, it was only on 1st July that Hurricane Beryl made land fall right here in St Vincent and the Grenadines as a Category 4 storm leaving a trail of damage and destruction before continuing on to other territories. Preliminary loss and damage estimates for the agriculture sector across all impacted islands were in the vicinity of US $159 million.
Given the realities of climate change in the Region. the promotion and adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture is crucial to improving production, building resilience and reducing emissions in the sector. I am happy to share that Building Climate Resilience in Agriculture has been part of our research agenda at CARDI for more than a decade! During the week we’ll be highlighting the results and impacts of our work in promoting and managing diverse and tolerant germplasm, the use of digital tools and alternative energy as scalable climate smart strategies. In addition, we will also convene a session on “Food and Nutrition Security Contributions and Initiatives 2025 and Beyond.” I also take the opportunity to invite you to our booth at the Trade Show and Exhibition. Here, you’ll learn more about our work in St Vincent and the Grenadines and across the wider Caribbean.
We look forward to meeting and sharing our experiences, networking and strengthening our partnerships as well as advocating for greater investments in agriculture.
Greater investments in adaptive research is crucial for developing climate smart agriculture solutions and boosting productivity and safeguarding the livelihoods of our producers. But also equally important is the need to improve access to climate financing for our farmers especially the smallholders. This will enable them to better cope with shocks and stresses and support more productive, resilient food systems.
Our collective goal is to develop, promote and adopt climate smart agriculture solutions and sustainable practices to build resilience. For us to achieve that, partnerships, policies and investments are needed. We at CARDI take the opportunity to wish each of you a successful and enriching CWA 2024!
