Up-scaling and Replicating (Part 1)
It's a wonderful day for nation building!!
Remember when we demonstrated how to implement a low cost on-farm rainwater harvesting structure, so as to help farmers capitalize on available rainwater?
Well, in an effort to validate the utility of this climate-smart practice, Jamaica's Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), through funding from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), up-scaled and replicated this aspect of our project.
This up-scale and replication took place under the FAO/MICAF/RADA Technical Cooperation Programme - "Improving Technical and Institutional Capacities for Disaster Risk Management and sustainable Agriculture in Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname". We were recently invited to their Field Day, where a reflection on project activities were discussed. We were very pleased to hear the various testimonials from farmers, as they shared how happy they were for participating in the "Surviving the Drought" project, an intervention which led to them being apart of this joint FAO/RADA project. The implementation of several on-farm rainwater harvesting structures across the community of Yardley Chase has maximized farmers' yields and improved their farming livelihoods. Added to that, this initiative is expected to be replicated by FAO/RADA in the parish of Clarendon.
Replication and up-scaling forms an essential part of the sustainable impact of any project and the "Surviving the Drought" project is proud to be the foundation of a potentially nationwide drive to increase farmers' adaptive capacity in the midst of a changing climate.
More details to come....but for now, enjoy some of the moments captured at the Field Day in Yardley Chase, St. Elizabeth.
Let's go to the field!!
Hand-watering of crops are a thing of the past, as farmers are able to attach drip irrigation system to this rainwater harvesting structure and regulate the amount of flow which goes to their farm.
Production! Production! Production!
Stay tuned for part 2 as we explore more in depth on how these on-farm rainwater harvesting structures have been impacting the livelihood of Jamaica's farmers.
