01/06/2020
Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today signed an agreement that begins implementation of a new US$119 million climate resilience project in the country.
The initiative "Increasing the Climate Resilience of Rural Families and Communities through the Rehabilitation of Productive Territories in Selected Locations of the Republic of Cuba" (IRES), was designed by MINAG and FAO, in coordination with the local population, civil society and other stakeholders, and was recently approved by the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GFCF) in Geneva.

The VCF will provide USD 38.2 million and the Cuban government will contribute USD 81.7 million in co-financing for this project, the first in the country supported by the Fund and the fourth formulated jointly with FAO in Latin America and the Caribbean and approved by this international financial mechanism.

Through the agreement, MINAG and FAO will implement IRES in seven of the municipalities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the provinces of Matanzas (Los Arabos), Villa Clara (Quemados de Güines, Corralillo and Santo Domingo) and Las Tunas (Amancio, Colombia and Jobabo), with the aim of improving food and nutritional security and increasing the resilience and stability of local food production systems, employment and access to water.

With a duration of seven years, it aims to benefit 240 000 people and mitigate the emission of around 2.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, working with 52 000 family farmers, 25 000 of whom are women.

"This project is an important contribution to Cuba's efforts to comply with its National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030, to support the territorial development plans and to stimulate the implementation of the State Plan for the Confrontation of Climate Change, Tarea Vida," said Oscar Labrador Llanes, director of MINAG's Forestry, Flora and Fauna Department.

Marcelo Resende, FAO Representative in Cuba, acknowledged that the signing of the agreement, even in the midst of the complex situation of confronting COVID-19, shows the country's commitment to boost investments in the agricultural sector and to develop sustainable food systems with a high capacity of resilience to climate events.

More resilient production systems
The Cuban project seeks to contribute to a paradigm shift in agricultural production, giving way to more sustainable and climate change-resilient agri-food systems. To promote this transformation, investments will be made in technology, machinery, equipment and inputs to rehabilitate productive landscapes, through agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, reforestation and

assisted natural regeneration.

 

New agroforestry modules will be introduced on 35 000 hectares at the municipal level, in areas covered mostly by marabou and degraded pastureland. This will raise the productivity and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems by improving water infiltration into the soil and preventing soil erosion.

The work with family farmers will focus on changing their traditional intensive models to more climate-resilient production techniques, which will serve as a pilot experience to be able to scale up these interventions to the entire country at a later stage.
IRES will also provide technical assistance for capacity building and the design of new government incentives for climate change adaptation.

Increasing climate vulnerability
Cuba is classified as a high-risk country, according to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index for the region prepared by the Latin American Development Bank.

According to data sent by Cuba to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the country has recorded more frequent, prolonged and severe increases in temperatures and droughts; greater frequency and intensity of hurricane activity; and moderate and severe coastal flooding.

These changes will affect agricultural production, particularly of staple crops, which will have a negative impact on the livelihoods of farming families, as well as on overall food availability.

According to the IRES baseline study, the potential yield of major crops could be progressively reduced over the next century, at a rate of 10-25%: up to 12% for beans and rice, 16% for cassava and 48% for potatoes.