IICA’s CARIBBEAN RESPONSIVE AGRICULTURE FORUM
The Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture’s (IICA) Caribbean Climate Responsive Agriculture Forum held a two-day workshop in Barbados from September 25th to 26th. This forum was on “Implementing the Agricultural Elements of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Enhancing Ambition for Greater Adaptation and Mitigation Action in the Agriculture Sector”.
The objective provided agricultural technicians and decision-makers from the Caribbean Region with a working knowledge of the agricultural elements of the NDC that could be shared and applied in their respective countries to enhance the ambition for greater adaptation and mitigation action in the agriculture sector.
Representing the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the state of Antigua and Barbuda was the Director of Agriculture, Mr. Gregory Bailey. In addition to being the Director, Mr. Bailey is also the Focal Point pertaining to the NDC.
According to Director Bailey, the main task of the Ministry of Agriculture is to work with key stakeholders toward addressing specific challenges and existing gaps related to the limited capacity of the agricultural sector to identify, compile, and manage data and information on needs, practices, and technologies to catalyze low-emission and CRA investments. It must be noted the Department of the Environment is the National Climate Change Adaptation focal point and designated authority as it relates to securing and disbursing climate change adaptation funds. In this context, the Ministry of Agriculture has benefited from attending this workshop as the outcomes and outputs can aid in strengthening its approach to engaging the national designated authority in seeking out invaluable resources needed for sector development and resilience building.