The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a $50 million project to boost climate resilience for vulnerable smallholder farmers in central Jamaica, as announced in an UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news statement. With over $40 million in GCF grants, ADAPT Jamaica targets six parishes producing 70% of the country’s food, reaching 700,000 beneficiaries — half of them women — battered by intensifying hurricanes, droughts, and erratic rain.
Jamaica’s farmers are on the front lines after Hurricane Beryl in 2024 caused $30 million in losses and Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in 2025 destroyed over 100,000 structures. Agriculture, which supports 18% of the population, faces 30-40% post-harvest losses from poor storage and transport. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu called it a smart investment in sustainable agrifood systems for better production, nutrition, environment, and life.
Jamaica’s Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said the project shifts from crisis response to resilience through climate-smart infrastructure, technologies, and market access. Co-financed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, Ministry of Agriculture, and Development Bank of Jamaica, it builds on FAO’s prior GCF feasibility work.
Farmer Field Schools will teach solar irrigation, cold storage, mixed cropping, improved seeds, and soil conservation like contour planting and agroforestry. Demonstration sites will showcase hurricane-proof greenhouses and shade houses for Category 4-5 storms, water harvesting for droughts, and market linkages to stabilize incomes and cut losses.
