Green Climate Fund: Seychelles to make agriculture more resilient to climate change
General |Author: Betymie Bonnelame | July 25, 2022, Monday @ 10:22| 8002 views
Joubert said that the programme targets agriculture which is among the most vulnerable to climate change. (Seychelles Nation)
The first phase of a programme to build long lasting capacity to develop transformational climate interventions in the agricultural sector in Seychelles was launched on Thursday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment said that Seychelles has embarked on the programme through a grant from the Green Climate Fund (GFC) Readiness Programme. The programme is part of a pan-African regional one aimed at doubling adaptation finance mobilised by African countries by the year 2025.
For the launch, a workshop was organised by Ernst & Young, a global firm acting as delivery partner for the Green Climate Fund.
In his address, the Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, said that the programme targets agriculture which is among the most vulnerable to climate change.
"The grant received from GFC is to develop paradigm-shifting and transformative projects of scale in the agriculture sectors," said the minister.
He added that farmers will need new tools and techniques to protect their bottom line and ensure the food security of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.
"The farmers will need more support from the government, from each other and this project will give them the direction of having an effective roadmap," said Joubert.
He outlined that at the workshop, producers and other partners have made commitments to implement innovative practices and make new private investments to contribute to greenhouse reductions and save energy consumption.
Patrick Lefeu, global climate finance leader from Ernst & Young, said the objectives of the programme are to mobilise the agricultural community and make agriculture more resilient to climate change.
He added that the programme is the biggest the GFC has ever launched.
Seychelles is one of 23 countries benefitting from the grant and the programme will be done in three phases. The first phase is capacity building, climate risks assessments and integration of policy alignment.