Ministry of Agriculture revises Agriculture Disaster Risk Management Plan

Driven by the national vision of becoming the first climate resilient nation in the world, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries on Wednesday hosted a one-day National Stakeholder Workshop to review the revised and updated Agriculture Disaster Risk Management plan for Dominica.

This is in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Agriculture Disaster Risk Management Plan was originally developed in 2014 for the period 2014-2019 with assistance from the FAO.

However, Dr. Almario Casimir, Disaster Risk Management Coordinator for the Ministry of Agriculture, says with the events of hurricane Maria in 2017 there was an urgent need to revise the plan and take into consideration new priority areas.

“So the plan is in its review process to include… pest and disease management which has been significantly challenging for Ministry of Agriculture” Casimir said. “From 2005 onwards we are expecting… 5 million dollars in the control and management of black sigatoka in bananas,  the Giant African Snail and multiple disease and pest issues with regards to our citrus industry”.

The updated plan also places strong focus on gender equality and social inclusion, and creatively articulate solutions to advance the goal of socio-economic and technological resilience.