St. Kitts launching two FAO funded agriculture projects

The Ministries of Agriculture and Environment will be moving ahead with the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) funded project “Assisting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to Integrate the Agricultural Sectors into Climate Change Priorities and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)”.

The FAO’s National Climate Change Officer, Stephen Duggins, says this project comprises of two outputs – strengthening technical capacities for innovations in climate adaptation and mitigation in the agricultural sector and integrating the Agricultural sector and food security priorities into national climate change strategies, action plans and NDCs.

“The impacts of climate change are likely to have a greater impact on agricultural sectors and food security than other sectors. Therefore, this climate change project and the opportunity for groups to demonstrate their ability to reduce the impact of such changes becomes significant to the country,” he said. “The small size and resource limitation make small Islands even more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Building capacity of the various stakeholders not only creates a greater awareness of the negative impact of climate change, but puts the country in a much better position to identify and adopt measures that will ensure greater sustainability of the environment and the economy.”

According to Duggins, , the FAO funded Climate Change Project is now seeking small scale replicable or creative/innovative projects that could minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector.

“Impact from intense storms or hurricanes which could give rise to strong winds and/or flooding, increase in temperatures and changes in our rainfall patterns are just a few potential impacts. Similarly, drought conditions, can seriously impact food production and our livelihoods,” he said. “The Project will provide grant funding up to US$8000.00 for as many as three small scale replicable agricultural project that will contribute to sustainable and resilient domestic food production, food security and nutrition.”

He added that the pilot projects selected for grant funding will provide a template for other stakeholders in other areas and perhaps in other countries to minimize similar effects of climate change.

Cheryl Jeffers, local focal point on the project, said that the “effects of climate change, such as increasing temperature and rainfall variability and more frequent extreme weather events are expected to affect all sectors” and because of this, the project is extremely important.

“This project tends to focus on prioritizing adaptation actions in the agricultural sector in an effort to safeguard food and nutrition security. This is important for St. Kitts and Nevis because agriculture and fisheries play a key role in supporting the local economy, thereby, contributing to food security, employment and income,” she stated.

The US$2 million FAO project, which runs from January 2017 to June 2019 is carried out in three Caribbean countries – St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Guyana, as well as five Pacific countries: Micronesia, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.There are adequate stocks of insulin formulations available at local hospitals and public pharmacies are adequately stocked for persons with Diabetes Mellitus, according to the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health has issued a statement confirming that Central Medical Stores have adequate stock of the usual fast-acting, intermediate-acting, and long-acting insulin formulations.

The Ministry reassured the general public that the present batches of insulin in stock have adequate shelf lives based on the expiration dates noted on the packages.

The statement said inaccurate information is circulating in the media regarding a stock-out or non-availability of insulin on-island. The inaccurate information also alleges that patients’ prescriptions are being filled with expired insulin. This information is not only false but is also deliberately misleading.

The Ministry underscored that its insulin stock is NOT exhausted, and that all persons with Diabetes who are maintained on insulin are presently able to access usual treatment.

The Ministry of Health said one of its priorities is to ensure that all persons with Diabetes have access to all medication, including insulin. Diabetes is a chronic Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) and the Ministry of Health is committed in its fight against this and other common illnesses.