Caribbean AgTech Investment Opportunities

DOMINICA | INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Caribbean AgTech Investment Summit, 2021

Agricultural land is frequently eroded or lost as a result of storms, heavy rains and even small showers following periods of drought. There is a direct risk of erosion, soil structure deterioration, soil fertility loss, hydrological impacts, as well as loss of biodiversity from on-farm agricultural practices which are unsustainable. For example, slopes of 30 or more are found in at least 60% of the country resulting in only a small percentage of the land (20%) being suitable for agriculture, although an estimated 25% of the land is being farmed (GEF PIF, 2018). Hence farming on marginal land is leading to increased use and dependency on mineral fertilizers for cropping, and increased risk of erosion through loss of vegetative cover (i.e. acidic soils particularly sensitive to land degradation and steep slopes are prone to erosion). Estimated Investment Cost: US$1.25M Mode of Investment: Partnership and Joint venture Email: psagriculture@dominica.gov.dm Website: agriculture.gov.dm

Development of Sustainable Hillside

Farming Technologies Ministry of Blue and Green Economy Agriculture and National Food Security Public Sector Dominica’s agricultural productive base has been particularly vulnerable, suffering major setbacks directly linked to meteorological and geo-physical hazards. Over the past 40 years, these hazards have affected incomes, employment, livelihoods and economic activity in the agri-food system, with major cross-sectoral economic implications. Farmers in a mountainous country, such as Dominica, are faced from the start with an almost infinite number of variables which may affect decisions about optimal land use. The rugged topography provides a wide variety of macro and microclimates, bedrock types, soil types, soil depths, and drainage conditions. This project has a strong focus on adapting to climate change through community empowerment utilizing climate smart technologies, improving disaster preparedness and integrating disaster risk management at the community landscape level. Farm interventions will concentrate on demonstrating land stabilization/conservation based on the impacts incurred (Maria, 2017) using a combination of sustainable agricultural land stabilization technologies as the primary focus, thus increasing their resilience to climate change impacts such as nutrient loss, soil degradation and erosion. This is particularly important because crop production is undertaken under open field rain- fed conditions, rendering them very vulnerable to adverse climatic conditions.

Images top & bottom: SALT Demo Plot at Slyvania, Central Region

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