‘Digital Villages’ Pilot Initiative launched for Eleuthera - FAO

Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs, and the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were in Eleuthera on Wednesday, February 8th, 2023 to introduce and launch a “Digital Villages Initiative”, with the stated purpose of digitizing food and agriculture chains, involving farmers, fisherfolk, as well as agroprocessors and crafters.

The group included, Dr. Crispin Moreira, FAO Country Representative; Kentisha Ward, Project Coordinator for the Digital Villages Initiative; Jeri Kelly-Russell, Ministry of Agriculture Policy and Program Officer and FAO National Correspondent, as well as Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Julia

Presenter during the midday introductory meeting hosted at Worker’s House in Governor’s Harbour on that Wednesday, Ms. Kentisha Ward with the FAO, discussed what digital agricultural tools were, how emerging digital technologies are being used to improve small-scale farmers’ access to resources and markets, how digital tools could improve the efficiency of farming operations and increase productivity, and how digital agriculture could help to build resilient communities.

The pilot program in Eleuthera, with a budget of $200,000, was described as a catalytic project, by presenter Jeri Kelly, with the Ministry of Agriculture. Further meetings and feedback from farmers, fisherfolk and crafters would hone the focus on develop- ing at least one digital innovation on the island by the end of 2023, she shared, with the expectation that this initial project would spinoff into further innovations and advances in the local industries.

“The purpose of today’s meeting was to reach out to the Eleuthera community - farmers, fisherfolk and crafters - to inform them of the upcoming Digital Villages Initiative - which involves encompassing technology into the farming and production process,” said Ms. Ward. “So, for example - farmers who want to scale up their production, technology is available to increase the speed of production - for fishermen to complete record keeping and to ensure that they are making the right amount of revenue for the right amount of catch, and so on.”