The FAO, a United Nations agency, did not declare the amount it will spend on the project
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 31 August 2024 — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Environment Fund will support the installation of solar electric pumps for agricultural plantations and livestock facilities in Cuba, the State press reported on Saturday. “The collaboration responds to the common interest of introducing sustainable technologies in the agricultural sector,” explains the FAO in a statement quoted by the State newspaper Granma.
The report explains that the equipment will be installed in selected locations in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus and Granma, and in the Company for the Conservation of the Zapata Swamp, in Matanzas. The purpose of the initiative is to use solar energy to extract water for the wellbeing of the animals and the irrigation of the plantations, and to contribute to “the conservation of water resources and the reduction of the carbon footprint.”
“The innovative solution – part of the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of ecosystems in agriculture, promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture – reduces dependence on fossil fuels and minimizes environmental impact,” according to the report.
Cuba is suffering from an intense drought that, says the Government, as a direct result of the climate crisis. It is not the first time that the Caribbean country has worked together with the FAO; since 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture has received technical assistance from the agency in a project called IRES,* dedicated to climate resilience in rural communities, the first Cuban initiative with funding from the Green Climate Fund.
The project seeks to mitigate the emission of around 2.7 million tons of greenhouse gases
The project seeks to mitigate the emission of around 2.7 million tons of greenhouse gases, involve 52,000 family farmers in the process and introduce better agroforestry practices for 35,000 hectares of land.
At the beginning of August, the FAO announced that it would devote 1.3 million dollars to promoting sustainable fishing practices and protecting the biodiversity on the Island. The sector is one of the most difficult due to the shortage of fishing gear, fuel and other resources. The objective is to strengthen the capacities of the Fisheries Research Center (CIP) of the Ministry of Food Industry and the technical departments of fishing companies operating in the Gulf of Guacanayabo, on the southeastern coast of the Cuban provinces of Granma, Camagüey and Las Tunas, according to FAO reports cited by the Cuban state press.
The initiative is part of the Conpescas Guacanayabo project that focuses on the sustainable management of marine resources, promotes the use of selective and environmentally friendly fishing gear and promotes the application of good practices in the sector, according to the FAO perspective.
The amount of money invested in the Island by the United Nations agency does not stop there. In 2020, Cuba and FAO agreed on the execution of a project to combat climate change in the amount of 119 million dollars, used to help vulnerable communities in three of the Island’s provinces.
*”Increased climate resilience of rural households and communities through the rehabilitation of production landscapes in selected locales of the Republic of Cuba.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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