Climate Exchange

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Climate services and

agriculture in the Caribbean

Adrian R. Trotman, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology

ood security is a critical concern for national govern-

ments in the Caribbean. This is particularly the case given

increasing food prices globally coupled with the global

recession and declining food production in the region. In recent

decades, in most of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

states, the tourism and services sectors have been dominant

forces in their economies while agriculture has declined in

relative importance, both in terms of its contribution to gross

domestic product (GDP) and its share of the labour force. Among

the problems facing the agriculture sector are losses in prefer-

ential markets (for example for sugar and bananas in Europe),

inefficient production, slow traditional farming methods, soil

erosion, slow technological advances, pests and diseases, short-

age of inputs and lack of appropriate and timely dissemination

of weather and climate information to promote sustainable

agriculture. All of these increase the risk of losses and disas-

ters in the sector. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of the

economically active population is still involved in agriculture

and agricultural employment is especially important for the live-

lihoods of the poor. Agricultural production contributes directly

to food security, but it also supports poverty reduction and acts

as an engine of overall economic growth in the region.

Weather, climate and agriculture in the Caribbean

The Caribbean region is vulnerable to a wide range of natural

hazards, ranging from catastrophic events such as floods, droughts,

and tropical cyclones to pests and diseases in plants, animals and

humans. These disasters cause much suffering, infrastructure and

environmental damage, aggravate food insecurity and slow down or

even reverse development gains. The impacts are noticeably more

significant in poor rural communities.

Land degradation is a threat to natural resources with direct

negative impacts on food security, poverty, and environmental

and political stability. Climate variability, climate change and land

degradation are intimately linked and generate unexpected effects

such as an increased occurrence of extreme weather conditions in

the region with greater consequences due to more vulnerable land-

scapes. Estimates suggest that the total annual impacts of potential

climate change on all CARICOM member states and associated

members by 2080 will be US$11.2 billion (referenced to 2007

US$), representing about 11.3 per cent of the total annual GDP

of all 20 CARICOM states in 2007.

Climate change is likely to

exacerbate the impacts of natural variability and its extremes. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested that

in future the Caribbean will experience reduced rainfall and more

frequent droughts, accompanied by more frequent episodes of high

intensity rainfall which can lead to flooding.

Recent

research has also suggested that the annual number

of category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring in the North

Atlantic will increase.

Weather and climate significantly affect agricultural

production in the Caribbean. The rainy season coin-

cides with the disastrous hurricane season and these

hurricanes cause much damage. For example, in 2004

Grenada’s agricultural sector suffered almost US$40

million in losses with damage to the nutmeg industry,

affecting the approximately 30,720 people it directly

and indirectly employed (about 30 per cent of its

population).

Rainfall variability results in droughts

and floods with significant impacts on agricultural

production. In a region where rainfed agriculture,

rather than the use of irrigation, still dominates, any

reduction in rainfall below what is normal has negative

consequences for agriculture. The drought in 2009 to

2010 was the most severe in decades causing crop and

livestock losses, increases in food prices, reduction in

export of some commodities like bananas, and increased

pumping of water for irrigation (for example, it cost the

Government of Guyana US$16,000 per day to operate

pumps and conduct other works essential for the deliv-

ery of water in one of its regions).

On the other hand,

flooding also results in major and frequent losses: for

example, in Guyana in 2005, flooding resulted in 59.5

per cent GDP in total losses with US$55 million from

agriculture alone,

which was followed by another flood

event the next year.

Hence, it is important to raise the

awareness of the farming community in the region to

such climate-related impacts and to climate products

and services that could reduce their vulnerability and

associated climate risks.

CAMI: a Caribbean approach

Weather and climate information is of critical impor-

tance to the decision-making process for agriculture,

water resources management and environmental

conservation in the Caribbean. Through the African,

Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries’ Science and

Technology programme that is funded by the European

Union, the Caribbean launched the Caribbean

Agrometeorological Initiative (CAMI) in February

2010.

The lead agency, the Caribbean Institute for

Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), partnered with

griculture