FAO in Jamaica, Bahamas and Belize

Programmes and projects

The governments and people of Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize have enjoyed a meaningful partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and have collaborated on several interventions in line with FAO’s strategic objectives. Such programmes and projects are largely guided by the respective Country Programming Framework (CPF), an agreement on priority areas signed between the government of each country and FAO.

Jamaica’s CPF sets out three government priority areas to guide FAO partnership and support with the Government of Jamaica. The priorities are: Value Chain Development for strengthening food systems, Food and Nutrition Security and Building Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods. In the Bahamas, the CPF priority areas are: Food and Nutrition Security and Safety, Climate Change and Sustainable Resource Management and Poverty Elimination. For Belize, the CPF priority areas are: Enhancing trade in agricultural and fisheries products, Food and nutrition security, Promoting sustainable and resilient food system, and Food safety and quality.

Through a mix of projects, FAO supports the governments and people of the countries.

Notable projects in Jamaica include:

  1. Strengthening the School Feeding Programme (SFP) in Jamaica, in support of the CELAC Plan for Food and Nutrition Security and Hunger Eradication of Hunger 2025.
  2. Promoting public purchase of locally produced food from small farmers and processors for the sustainable school feeding pilot in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica
  3. Capacity building in resource assessment and management of the Jamaican sea cucumber fishery and potential for aquaculture development.
  4. Support for the development of the Ginger Value Chain in Jamaica
  5. Creating an enabling environment for agri-insurance provision in 3 Caribbean countries
  6. Improving technical and institutional capacities for disaster and climate risk management and sustainable agriculture in Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname
  7. Strengthening the human resilience in Northern Clarendon and West Kingston, Jamaica
  8. Support to formulate a national small ruminant industry development plan in Jamaica

In the Bahamas notable projects include:

  1. Technical Assistance to support the development of an Action Plan for the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy of The Bahamas
  2. Assessment of the National School Feeding Programme in The Bahamas
  3. Towards a Caribbean Blue Revolution
  4. Disposal of Obsolete Pesticides including POPs, Promotion of Alternatives and Strengthening Pesticides Management in the Caribbean (FSP)

Notable projects in Belize include:

  1. Developing and enhancing small scale agri-processing capacity in Belize

Current projects for the countries of the representation are reflected under Project List