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Earth Today | Upgraded agri research station to boost Caribbean climate resilience

Published:Wednesday | May 2, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Contributed
From left: Dr Gregory Robin, CARDI representative in Jamaica, details the MOU to refurbish the Bodles Seed Storage Facility while MICAF Permanent Secretary Donovan Stanberry; Minister Audley Shaw; CARDI Executive Director Barton Clarke, and IDB climate change specialist Gerard Alleng listen keenly

THE SEED storage facility at the Bodles Agricultural Research Station in St Catherine is to be upgraded, thanks to a memoran-dum of understanding (MoU) signed recently between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries (MICAF) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Institute (CARDI).

The MOU was signed by Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries Minister Audley Shaw and CARDI's Executive Director Barton Clarke at MICAF's St Lucia Avenue offices in New Kingston.

Support for the upgrade is provided through the Caribbean Regional Track of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR), with funding from the Climate Investment Funds through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The PPCR is a five-year project coordinated by the Project Management Unit of the Mona Office for Research and Innovation, University of the West Indies.

 

Improvements

 

Upgrade activities will cover an expansion of the seed storage facility to include a new and improved cold room and storage areas, and the acquisition of equipment, including a seed batch dryer and standby power generator to keep the facility viable in the event of a power outage. The upgraded seed storage facility will also house seeds of climate-resilient plant varieties.

In keeping with the mandate of the PPCR, work to be carried out under the MOU aims at building the resilience of local and regional agriculture to climate change impacts.

Minister Audley Shaw described the intervention as timely. He noted that it supports the current redevelopment work taking place at the agricultural station, all of which he said is critical to building a resilient agricultural sector.

"Our aim is to return Bodles to pride of place as an agricultural centre of excellence in the Caribbean," he said.

Senior climate change specialist with the IDB, Gerard Alleng, said his organisation was pleased to be associated with, and to support initiatives that demonstrate collaboration between countries and regional organisations.