Resilient Caribbean Initiative’s Water-Energy-Food Nexus Subproject Bearing Fruit in the Caribbean

Over the last three years, more than 130 farmers, extension staff and technical officers across four Caribbean countries have been able to enhance their knowledge and tools to implement climate-resilient agricultural technologies and practices. This achievement among others, is thanks to the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus Subproject of the Mexico-CARICOM-FAO Initiative “Cooperation for Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the Caribbean”, also known as the Resilient Caribbean Initiative (RCI). The subproject, now in its final stages, has delivered positive results for the agriculture sector in the region, particularly in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. 

Having started in 2021, the WEF Nexus Subproject was designed to improve the efficiency in the use and management of water resources, taking an integrated Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach to increase agricultural productivity in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The approach embraces the natural linkages between water, energy and food and highlights ways to use these key elements harmoniously and sustainably.  Apart from the initial trainings on sustainable agricultural practices to improve water and soil management efficiency, the subproject has also piloted technological innovations to increase agricultural productivity, such as i) solar-powered drip irrigation systems to improve efficiency in water and energy use; solar-powered soilless cultivation (e.g. hydroponics and aquaponics) for urban farming, and iii) rainwater harvesting and storage to increase water availability for farmers. This has involved the procurement, distribution and installation of 38 solar-powered pumps, 3 solar hydroponic systems, 4 solar aquaponic systems, 1 set of batteries for off-grid aquaponic production, materials for the construction of 19 rainwater harvesting sheds, 63 water storage solutions (23 bladders and 40 tanks), 1 water conveyance system, 34 drip irrigation kits and a series of measuring and monitoring devices (irrigation timers, water pH and electro-conductivity meters, tensiometers) to benefit about 100 farmers across the four participating countries. The identification of these technologies was done in 2022, in partnership with the Mexican Institute for Water Technology (IMTA). A webinar series providing details on the technologies and associated practices was offered to participating countries and the wider Caribbean region in 2023. It can be accessed in the following link: https://t.co/mfO9a3rwAe.

Most of the equipment is already up and running in farmers’ fields. Meanwhile, 25 farmers in Antigua and Barbuda who received the technology, have just completed training on its operation and maintenance, while in Jamaica this training happened in December 2023.  Farmer Shier Williams from Antigua and Barbuda says things are going well and she is now able to produce more with the equipment received. “I am now able to plant more because of the bag [water bladder] so I’ve planted okras and it’s the quickest I’ve seen them grow”, she noted. FAO’s Project Manager for the Resilient Caribbean Initiative, Jacinto Buenfil said “climate-resilient agriculture technologies and practices, such as the ones showcased by the WEF subproject, are essential in Caribbean countries given their high vulnerability to climate hazards, high food and energy import bills, and generally low availability of water resources”.

The WEF Nexus Subproject, through the provision of targeted, strategic trainings and key climate-resilient technology, has been addressing several challenges facing the region’s agriculture sector. One of these challenges is the lack of data and decision-support tools. Through the project, a monitoring framework and respective training is being delivered to farmers and partner ministry staff so that the cost-benefit analyses of implementing these technologies and practices can be performed in the future. A tool to identify rainwater harvesting sites and plan for the construction of reservoirs to support local agricultural production has also been produced.

As a strategy to scale up interventions piloted in the four target countries through the Resilient Caribbean Initiative, FAO is including the WEF Nexus approach in several funding proposals to climate and environmental finance donors, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF). A GCF proposal for Central Jamaica is underway, which includes rainwater harvesting, protected agriculture, solar-powered irrigation systems and closed loop production systems. For Barbados, the chosen donor was the GEF, and the project will focus on accelerating the country’s transition to climate-resilient and low-emission agrifood systems while strengthening the adaptive capacity of farmers to implement these practices and technologies. Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are included in a proposal that the Caribbean Development Bank is developing for the AF, with FAO as executing partner. The regional project aims at strengthening adaptation and productivity for sustainable growth through climate-resilient agriculture and focuses on replicating the WEF Nexus approach.  
The WEF subproject falls under component one of the Resilient Caribbean Initiative, which is aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries in aspects related to resilient livelihoods and well-being through south-south cooperation, focusing on agriculture, aquaculture and school feeding programmes. The project is being implemented with the support of Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).