Shaw welcomes crop modelling to mitigate climate change impact

Pre-Eminent Scholar, University of Florida (USA), Prof. Gerrit Hoogenboom (left), shows Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw (2nd right), a copy of the ‘Understanding Options for Agricultural Production’ book, at the opening ceremony of the Advanced Crop Modelling Training Workshop, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, on Monday, July 23. Others (from left) are Agronomist, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Gregory Robin and Deputy Principal, UWI, Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa. As part of efforts to build climate resilience within the agricultural sector, the Department of Physics at UWI Mona and the Department of Food Production at UWI St. Augustine are conducting advanced training courses in crop modelling over the period July 23-27, 2018.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Audley Shaw, has welcomed the training in crop modelling for agricultural stakeholders, emphasising that there is need for urgent application of research knowledge in order to ensure the agricultural sector’s resilience to climate change.
This, he said, is important in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on the agricultural sector through droughts, hurricanes, and flooding. Increased crop pests and diseases and decreased crop and livestock yield were some of the other negative impacts highlighted by the minister.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony for the Advanced Crop Simulation Modelling Workshop being conducted by the University of the West Indies at Mona on July 23. Participants include private and public sector agronomists, extension officers, farmers and researchers from across the Caribbean region.
“Through this intervention, we look forward to a greater output of diversified agriculture, crops, livestock and poultry and access to appropriate technology by more Jamaican farmers, said Minister Shaw.
Minister Shaw said the training would equip agricultural stakeholders with the knowledge of how to apply technology to their real-world concerns and get the data needed to inform sustainable and effective planning.
This data, the agriculture minister said, is critical in building Jamaica’s resilience to climate change impacts as well as building farmers’ capacity to address some of the threats to food security.
While crop modelling is relatively new to the Caribbean, Minister Shaw stated that it is a tool that is used extensively in global agriculture with benefits such as the maximisation of farmers’ crop yields, improvement of research and extension capabilities, and informing sustainable and effective planning.
Crop modelling is the application of a computer model to real world problems. It simulates crop production in different scenarios and assesses crop production, water and nutrient management, climatic and economic risk, and environmental sustainability. This simulation gives a clear picture of what to expect thus facilitating the implementation of plans to improve management of cropping systems.

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