Grenada’s Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Cooperatives has partnered with FAO to launch two projects aimed at promoting digital agriculture and resilient food systems across the Caribbean Island.

The projects, entitled: “the Global Network of Digital Agriculture Innovation Hubs (DAIH) and the Regional E-Agriculture for the Caribbean – a post-COVID-19 Mechanism to advance resilient agrifood (REA),” were launched at a workshop held from 22 to 24 March in the capital St. George.

The joint-initiative marks a bold step towards revolutionizing the agricultural sector by scaling-up digital agriculture and innovative practices to modernise harvesting methods across the food chain.

The DAIH sub-programme will support the Ministry in developing a transformation strategy to supply the sector with digital technologies and innovations, while the REA project will benefit six countries in the region: the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Nevis, and Saint Kitts.

“Agriculture faces serious challenges, including low product quality, high input prices, a lack of information on best practices, insufficient market information for informed decision-making, and high levels of theft in agriculture,” said Aaron François, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture.  

The projects will establish a national innovation centre for digital agriculture and a programme to accelerate the development and adoption of digital innovations that will help farmers and actors across the value chain, especially young people and women to become more financially self-sufficient.

“Digital literacy among farmers is crucial, we want to ensure that they actively use digital tools to connect, access market information, and retrieve relevant weather data to make informed decisions,” said Vermaran Extavour, Project Coordinator for the initiatives.

The two projects will also pilot the use of new solutions with the ambition of helping farmers to understand and prioritize digital engagement.

In a climate of rising unemployment, the projects set out to create jobs and to motivate individuals to build careers in agriculture.

Developing a national agricultural digital strategy in an inclusive and participatory manner and enhancing the digital transformation skills of multiple stakeholders is a key component of the projects’ mission.

“Equipping new generations, who are already digitally savvy, with the tools to bolster food security and help people adapt to the impacts of climate change will open up opportunities,” said Nikola Trendov, FAO's Digital Agriculture and Innovation Specialist.