The importance of sustainable, climate-smart agriculture and improved land management systems was emphasised recently at a soil care workshop, in St. John, hosted by the Natural Heritage Department and the Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management (PISLM).
It aimed to assist farmers in the region, by utilising the necessary tools for adding value to their crops.
The workshop falls under the Caribbean Small Island Developing States Multi-country Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Food Systems (CSIDS SOILCARE Phase I) Project, which involves multiple dynamics, according to Regional Land Expert at PISLM, Dr. Ronen Francis.
“There is a lot going on under the project.… The research and development into new technologies will add to the knowledge base around the project, that all the participating islands can access, which allows the farmers and stakeholders to be exposed to new and innovative ways of conducting their practices,” Dr. Francis said.
Monitoring and auditing the sustainable practices of farms is lauded as being specifically beneficial throughout the region, especially for those farmers who want to label their products as organic. Consequently, the Regional Land Expert outlined that the Caribbean Climate-Smart Agricultural Compliance (C-SAC) tool, which is used in the Project, is both state-of-the-art and integral for improving the livelihoods of farmers.
“The C-SAC tool grades farms based on compliance and sustainability, and that adds value and marketability to local distributors, hotels, and supermarkets.
That is something that is very innovative and unique to the Caribbean, for our circumstance and is quite necessary at this point in time for us to be able to self-evaluate and self-determine our agricultural production regionally,” underscored Dr. Francis.
The Caribbean Small Island Developing States Multi-Country Soil Management Initiative, for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Food Systems (CSIDS SOILCARE Phase One) Project’, which started in 2022, involves the target countries of Barbados; Antigua and Barbuda; Belize; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica and St. Lucia. It is slated to culminate in 2026.