SOME 31 officers from various agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture recently participated in a two-day workshop on early warning systems and anticipatory actions for disaster risk management in agriculture.

This was according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in a press release, on Wednesday.
According to the FAO, the workshop was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.
With the changing weather patterns and risk of disasters, early warning systems and actions to protect the agriculture sector remain a priority for Guyana, the FAO said.
The workshop, therefore, supplemented efforts in this area. It was facilitated by Dr Roberto Sandoval, Disaster Risk Management Specialist from FAO and was attended by officers from Hydrometeorological Service, Guyana Livestock Development Agency, Guyana Rice Development Board, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Guyana Sugar Corporation and Hope coconut industries.

“By developing anticipatory actions based on early warnings, farmers and fishers can take precautionary and preventative measures once a warning is issued by the relevant agencies to prepare for any impending disaster,” FAO said.
Further, it was outlined that an agency developing and implementing protocols for early actions, ensures that there are resources and tools ready to prepare for disasters before they happen.

At the end of the second day of the workshop, the participants were able to review early warning systems for Guyana’s main agricultural sectors, develop a crisis timeline and identify anticipatory actions that can be taken to reduce the impact of floods and drought on the livelihoods of farmers and fishers in Guyana.
The FAO said: “Early warning systems are the cornerstone of any anticipatory action system. They enable countries and institutions to monitor and clearly communicate early signs of a growing hazard and predict when shocks will happen and where.”

To this end it was stated that anticipatory action is increasingly being recognised as an important approach in disaster risk management.