The Government of Dominica and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are implementing a Government of Japan-funded project “Strengthening Disaster Management Capacity of Women in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Commonwealth of Dominica” to scale up resilience of small farmers and women’s farmer groups by enhancing risk-informed decision making and community support in the parishes of St. David, St. Paul and St. Patrick.
During the launch, Mr. Toshihide Kanaya, Second Secretary to the Japanese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago noted Japan’s commitment to support Dominica and the long history of cooperation across various sectors that include fisheries and agriculture. Mr. Magdy Martinez-Soliman, Resident Representative of UNDP Barbados and the OECS highlighted that “Men’s and women’s unequal participation in agriculture require targeted interventions to narrow the differential impacts of both men and women and increase resilience to hazards”.
In his remarks, Minister Isaac, Ministry of Environment, Climate Resilience, Disaster Management and Urban Renewal pledged the commitment of his Ministry to support the implementation of the project, expressing his enthusiasm for the opportunity to develop capacities to strengthen national resilience. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Dr. Reginald Thomas, presenting of behalf of the Minister, expressed gratitude to both the Government of Japan and the UNDP for an initiative which, “fits into the Ministry’s plans and programs to build resilience, in keeping with the Government’s desire to be the first Climate Resilient Country in the World”.
During the ceremony the Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan and the Resident Representative of the UNDP Barbados and the OECS presented tablets to the Government of Dominica to support the work of the Agriculture Extension staff. The project launch coincides with the commencement of a Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) scoping missing to conclude on 15th November 2019. The PICSA initiative is spearheaded by the University of Reading and supported by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology.
