–FAO Resident Representative tells Disaster Risk Management consultation

By Shirley Thomas

FOOD and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Guyana, Reuben Robertson, has said climate change is real and requires a concerted effort to be effectively addressed.Noting that over 70 per cent of the world’s poor rely on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihood, Robertson said they are the ones who are hardest hit by high temperatures and other weather-related hazards. And noting that weathers are exacerbated by climate change, he said this phenomenon is increasing in frequency and intensity.

“Without concerted efforts and action by the countries to build resilience nationally and at the community levels, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable will continue to struggle to generate enough income, and to feed themselves and their families,” he declared.

Stressing the importance of addressing climate change and its impact, Robertson said he recognizes it is a priority of the Government of Guyana. He said the model the Ministry of Agriculture provided to the FAO in seeking technical assistance to develop a Disaster Risk Management Plan for the agricultural sector has all the elements for capacity-building within the related institutions among and within the rural communities, or ADRM.

Moreover, it has the full inputs of all stakeholders, and has been considered the best fit for the time it was developed in 2013.

“Recognising the commitment of governments — and in particular the Government of Guyana — to these global initiatives, it is just fitting and necessary for us to revisit and adjust the ADRM plan to reflect such global policy initiative; and I hope that we will take that into consideration,” the FAO official said.

CRITICAL ROLE
Robertson sees the need for a critical role for the agricultural sector in addressing the complex issues of climate change — adopting sustainable agricultural practices that are tailored to local contexts and situations.

Small farmers, he said, can also adopt these sustainable agricultural best practices, which are vital to combating poverty and hunger in a changing environment.

He expressed these views at a stakeholder consultation on Disaster Risk Management, held at Cara Lodge on Quamina Street, Georgetown on Friday. The theme for this consultation was “Building Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood: Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management/Disaster Risk Reduction into the agriculture sector in Guyana”. The forum sought to present the preliminary findings and recommendations of the assessment of the institutional and coordination mechanisms within the Agriculture Sector done last July, in order to maintain Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and to solicit feedback from stakeholders on the preliminary findings and recommendations, in an effort to improve the report. The findings of the assessment were presented for critical analysis and recommendations on how the plan should be updated, and what implementation modalities should be employed to ensure that the farmers in the communities benefit from such a plan.

“This workshop today is the culmination of a week and more of work done by our experts to review and assess the status of implementation of the ADRM plan,” Robertson said. “I can only hope that the reviews do not just focus on the institutional capacity-building mechanism and coordinating modalities, but would also look at the financing gaps and the real partnerships and resource mobilisation that would be required to ensure a successful implementation of the ADRM plan,” the FAO official said.

He cautioned the stakeholders that their inputs would be very critical to the process; not only for improving the report, but to put in place the necessary measures that would allow for capacity-building and the adaption of climate change or climate-smart agricultural practices.

It would also be critical for the implementation of ADRM best practices, which would improve and sustain the livelihoods of all farmers here in Guyana, he declared.

KUDOS FOR GUYANA
Also addressing the stakeholders — drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Fisheries Department, fisherfolk, and other related entities — were United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Representative Shabnam Mallick and FAO Consultant Steve Maximay, who presented the preliminary findings and recommendations of the assessment.

In his opening remarks to the consultation, Maximay said he holds Guyana’s involvement with climate change information and application in “very, very’ high esteem, and has told it to everyone who would listen”.

“I have always been impressed with the leaps and bounds Guyana has made in advance of the rest of CARICOM, and I can say this without fear of contradiction. Having been lucky enough to work in every CARICOIM country, I can say this from the standpoint of an outsider who is coming to help celebrate the leadership that Guyana has taken in this regard,” he declared.

Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary George Jervis, listed to address the consultation, was unavoidably absent; but Dr. Jean David, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Focal Point in the Ministry of Agriculture and the one who chaired the programme, delivered an overview of the project.

Dr. David outlined that the project is a collaboration among several partners –- the Government of Japan, who provided funding and other collaborative efforts; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; and the Government of Guyana.

Alluding to climate change and its impact, Dr. David said it is why the FAO was approached by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide technical assistance to Develop the Disaster Risk Management Plan for the agriculture sector.

On continuous progress in the project, Dr. David cited the initial workshop in June; the project launch, as well as the first Steering Committee meeting in July; and at this juncture, the stakeholder consultation. She expressed gratitude to the partners on board, particularly the FAO for this aspect of the project.

She credited Consultant Maximay for having done a thorough assessment of DRM in the agriculture sector, and also for reviewing policies; and she credited the regional coordinating mechanism for DRM in the agriculture sector.

UNDERSTANDING THE GAPS
UNDP Deputy Representative Shabnam Mallick said that, for achieving effective mainstreaming of DRM in the agriculture sector, it is vital to understand the status of the implementation of the plan; do a revision of existing policy and institutional mechanisms for ADRM; and do likewise for capacity and awareness building.

She stressed the importance of strengthening the enabling environment of the responsible institutions, noting that it is indeed key to foster coordination and implementation of the ADRM plan.

Mallick is hopeful that, through this workshop and the cooperation of all stakeholders in the ADRM, the consultation would gain a good understanding of the gaps and needs of the current institution and co-coordinating mechanism. She concluded that strengthening the relevant institutional mechanisms would be the foundation to ensure that national institutions are effectively employing DRM tools.