Dr Shaneica Lester takes top prize in CSE Competition

Dr Shaneica Lester, lecturer in the Department of Geography and Geology in the Faculty of Science and Technology at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, whose article Building Resilience in Jamaica’s Farming Communities: Insights From a Climate-Smart Intervention took the top prize in the Case Studies in the Environment (CSE) Prize Competition.

In the past two decades, Jamaica has been besieged by a series of climatic catastrophes, including droughts, floods, and hurricanes, which have wreaked havoc on its economic trajectory and jeopardised the sustenance of numerous farmers. The total cost of the combined impacts of several storms and hurricanes, including associated severe flooding damage, loss of lives, and destruction of goods and services in the past decade has amounted to over US$129 billion.

With farming communities being the backbone of Jamaica’s agriculture sector, consistently primarily of small-scale farmers with limited resources, Dr Lester indicated that she was prompted to document issues affecting them, as these farmers are on the frontline of the climate crisis.

“These farmers face recurring climatic shocks such as droughts, floods, and storms that threaten their livelihoods, well-being, and national food security. This topic highlights the urgent need to address vulnerabilities within Jamaica’s agri-food systems through integrated and effective climate adaptation strategies. Climate-smart interventions can reduce future agroclimatic impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and significantly enhance the resilience of farming communities to both environmental and economic challenges while fostering sustainable agriculture,” Dr Lester said.

The farmers within the study area, Peckham in Clarendon, were increasingly affected by severe water shortages and lower agricultural outputs. The study employed the Farmer-Field School approach, which is an action-oriented and participatory approach to promote sustainable alternative livelihood strategies and improved land and water resource management practices through 31 agricultural training sessions and 16 climate-smart agriculture workshops, engaging 458 farmers.

“Climate-smart interventions such as implementing a renewable energy-powered aquaponics system and introducing a more drought-tolerant and resilient sweet potato variety (Ipomoeabatatas or ‘Uplifter’) were key features of the initiative. The farmers were also equipped with knowledge and practical skills to adapt to climate challenges through disaster risk management training, which led to the establishment of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Framers were also engaged in the use of the Revofarm mobile application to improve their access to climate and market information,” Dr Lester said.

Important findings from the study, she said, included innovative adaptation technologies such as aquaponics systems that have the potential to simultaneously address food security challenges and provide alternative income to farming communities.

The study also highlighted improved land and water management practices and the introduction of resilient crop varieties to help mitigate the effects of climatic events, such as droughts and flood on farming.

Real-time access to agronomic and weather data through applications such as Revofarm supports farm management planning and decision-making that can enhance productivity and income, and the active participation of farmers in disaster risk management training and the establishment of CERT empowers the community to quickly respond and recover from the impacts of extreme events and reduce potential losses was also highlighted.

“The findings from this study are highly beneficial for improving farming in Jamaica by providing a replicable model applicable to other farming communities. The case study shows how immediate challenges can be addressed while building a foundation for more resilient agricultural systems by empowering farming communities.

It also demonstrates the value of local (grassroots) climate change solutions and how a proactive and multi stakeholder approach can promote long-term sustainability and transformative adaptation,” Dr Lester said.

The sense of ownership and empowerment fostered by the emphasis on community engagement and the Framer Field School approach, she said, also encourages continuous learning and exchange of local and technical knowledge that strengthened farmers’ management and decision-making, which is crucial to withstand future climate variability and change.

“Replicating this inclusive approach and educational design with the introduction of climate smart technologies has the potential to shift how farming communities view agriculture, especially young people and their ability to adapt to climate change. This is critical to building the resilience of farming communities in Jamaica and transforming the agriculture sector into a more sustainable contributor to the nation’s economy,” Dr Lester said.

Dr Lester and co-writer, Donovan Campbell, were selected by an editorial team, who evaluated the submissions for publication in the journal.

“Despite having no prior knowledge of the competition when submitting the article for publication, we are honoured to be recognised by the journal for our work. This recognition affirms the significance of our case study in highlighting pressing environmental challenges and contributing to the broader discourse on building resilient agri-food systems and communities threatened by climate change. We appreciate this recognition from the editorial team, which allows the study’s findings to reach a wider audience,” Dr Lester said.

The case study can be viewed online: https://online.ucpress.edu/cse/article/7/1/1233811/197495/Building-Resil...

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com