Dominica farmers and fisherfolk gain skills for socio-economic resilience through ILO-led capacity building

Like other Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Dominica is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, climate change and other natural hazards. Such risks pose threats to agriculture and fisheries that can significantly disrupt livelihoods, diminish the availability of food, reduce food exports while adding to the regional food import bill. In 2017, the country’s agricultural sector was decimated, directly impacting income, food and nutrition security for a large percentage of the island’s population.

Under United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) Project, the ILO Caribbean Office is working with Dominica’s farming and fishing communities so that they can become better prepared to effectively withstand and recover from shocks, while limiting decreases in the national and regional food supply. Through the Project, training is being provided to farmers and fisherfolk to boost their broader financial literacy and resilience.

“The ILO has developed this course in partnership with the Dominica Cooperatives Division to provide farmers and fishers with a practical hands-on learning experience in coping mechanisms so that they can mitigate risks; budget for their personal and business needs; and understand how to use financial services for savings an insurance,” said John Bliek, Specialist for Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation at the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.

"By enhancing financial literacy, individuals can make informed decisions, build sustainable financial habits, and create a stronger foundation for their economic well-being, ultimately leading to greater socio-economic resilience for themselves and their communities. This is the value of this training course," said Janille Huggins, ILO Consultant who is leading the delivery of the training.

The overall response from the Government and participants has been positive.

“This training is excellent. Farmers were educated on managing their finances; this included planning, budgeting and savings. They were also introduced to insurance, planning for times of natural disasters,” said Jones Telemaque, Education and Training Officer of Dominica’s Cooperatives Division.

“I learned about financial literacy. This included budgeting and how a budget helps me to better manage my finances and assist in the development of the Cooperatives business,” said training participant Mervyn Tavernier, a fisherman at Newtown Fisheries.

"The Training was very helpful teaching farmers how to recognize and organize the finite details of finances that will help us achieve success and future stability," said Samantha Francis, a potato farmer.

"Farm Insurance is important to cooperatives and individual farmers. I learnt about the importance of farmer insurance. Budgeting for farmers was enlightening for me," said Suzanna Gordon of the Belles Farmers Cooperative.

Over the next two months, similar trainings will be developed and delivered to build the socio-economic resilience and adaptation skills of farmers and fishers in other UNTFHS Project beneficiary countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, and Saint Lucia.

In another area of the UNTFHS Project, the ILO is providing business development coaching and support to groups including seamoss producers in Dominica. To enable access to business coaching the ILO has trained a group of business coaches and has set up a network called the Caribbean Circle of Business Coaches. Taking this approach ensures that target groups such as farmers, rural women and fisherfolk can continue to benefit from high level coaching.

The ILO is proud to be a partner of the UNTFHS alongside our sister agencies UN Women Caribbean, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean to build resilience in 5 Caribbean countries. For more information, please visit: https://www.un.org/humansecurity/