– Agri. Minister tells FAO regional conference

THE COVID-19 pandemic has increased the challenges faced by farmers and the agri-food system as people are living in unprecedented times that require agriculture to be sustainable and climate-resilient now more than ever before.

This is according to Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, during his address on Day Two of the XXXVI FAO regional conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, hosted by the Government of Nicaragua.

He said Guyana sees this as an opportunity to accelerate transformations in the food and agriculture sector by building the resilience of our farmers and the supply chain system.
“We, therefore, prioritise initiatives that increase technological innovations, greater investment in research, human capital, and better policies and regulations. We are grateful to the strong commitment of the FAO over the years in their support to Latin America and Caribbean countries (including Guyana) as we work together to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the agriculture component outlined in the Paris Agreement and the many other agri-environmental agreements,” Minister Zulfikar said.

The Agriculture Minister said the leading role of the FAO is recognised in supporting countries in their transitioning towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.
“We are indeed thankful to the FAO for its tangible support to countries in accessing climate financing. In the Caribbean and Guyana, FAO has been working to scale up climate investment for the agricultural sector,” he said.

There must be much more urgency and vital importance of securing large scale climate financing, he said, such as Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Adaptation Fund, which can support scaling up of good agriculture practices to have significant and transformational impact.

Guyana, he said is currently partnering with the FAO in ‘Setting the Foundation for Strategic Climate Change Interventions for the Agricultural sector’ to strengthen its national designated authorities, and strategic frameworks, and support for accreditation and accredited direct access entities.
Additionally, he said that, to mobilise funding from the Green Climate Fund, Guyana is working on project proposals for a multi-year, programmatic approach to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development to deal with the issues of climate change.

TRANSFORMATION
With increased investment in crops with low carbon footprints, sectors, such as fruits and vegetables and aquaculture, Minister Zulfikar said Guyana envisions a transformation of the food system to include innovation and initiatives that drive changes at each stage of the production chain.
Some of the sustainable climate-resilient productive agriculture systems, being undertaken in Guyana he said include crop diversification to adjust to the new temperature and precipitation patterns.

Others, he said, include changing livestock breeding practices and shifting grazing patterns, developing and managing climate-resilient food production systems, developing and using drought and flood-tolerant crop varieties and adopting water and soil moisture conservation measures.
Further, he said Guyana is blessed with freshwater and there is potential for greater development in the fisheries industry.
In 2016, Guyana signed onto the ‘Port of State Measures Agreement’ (PSMA) and, with the support of FAO, has been strengthening its capability to deal with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“We request continued support in improving national systems for the evaluation and monitoring of fisheries resources and strengthening our aquaculture producers for sustainable and resilient value chains,” he said.

Additionally, the minister noted that climate hazards are a cause of global food insecurity and hunger, particularly when they compound existing economic vulnerability.
Guyana, he said, has long been classified as a high risk flood country and there is the risk of greater frequency and intensity, with the greatest vulnerability experienced within the coastal zone.

“The coastal area accounts for around 90 per cent of the country’s population; this is the same area with most of the agricultural activities. Farmers who face increasing exposure to disaster can find themselves trapped in a cycle of food insecurity and poverty,” the Minister emphasised.

Therefore, he said the high risk of climate-related disaster in agriculture activities requires enhanced mainstreaming of disaster-risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies.