“The
aim of the centre is to assist Pacific Island countries and territories to
conserve the region’s resources, and to make them available to the when they
are required by farmers in particular. Conservation is the core business of the
centre, with priority given to a number of crops such as dasheen which we call
taro, yam, cassava and breadfruit”
Associate Programme
Coordinator, ARD Policy of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation Samson Vilvil Fare speaking at the Caribbean Pacific Agri-food
forum in Barbados about Dasheen
Jamaica
may soon have a variety of Dasheen that's drought-resistant thanks to shared
research from the Pacific.
This
new variety of dasheen was introduced during a Caribbean Pacific Agri-food forum
in Barbados as reported in the article “'Smart'
dasheen resistance to drought”, published November 04, 2015, The Jamaica Observer.
Revealed
at the Caribbean Pacific Agri-food forum in Barbados by the Associate Programme
Coordinator, ARD Policy of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation Samson Vilvil Fare, this very important plant is doing well so far
in testing in Trinidad and Tobago, quote: “This crop is already tested in the
Caribbean, it was planted in Trinidad and the feedback is very positive.
Dasheen is a main staple for us and we eat a lot of it, so something had to be
done to ensure that it will survive long dry season that is now associated with
the impact of climate change”.
The
new variety of dasheen was developed for the islands in the Pacific after years
of study by CARDI (Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute). The
Pacific islanders called dasheen “taro” and the new variety can withstand
prolonged drought and grow in highly saline soil.
Perfect
for islands that have no running water dependent on seasonal rainfall that's
not predictable or consistent and only have access to seawater for agricultural
and domestic use. The plant is now accepted for use in the Pacific Islands and
research has already begun in the developement of a new variety of Yam that is
also drought resists as well as able to grow in salty, sandy soil and use
seawater.
Dasheen that grows with
less fresh water – More plant needed that grow with less
According
to the WRA (Water Resources Authority) Jamaica uses only 25% of available
groundwater resources i.e. wells and 11% of accessible surface water resources
i.e. rivers as noted in the article “Jamaica’s
aging water systems falter under intense heat and drought”, published
November 18th 2015 By Zadie Neufville, Caribbean 360.
With
this fact it mind, the necessity of making a dasheen plant that grows with less
water might seem a tad odd. But the
Caribbean and Jamaica share the same climate as well as the same problems as it
relates to the scarcity of water resources. Thus developing such water
efficient plants as well as sharing our knowledge with our Pacific neighbours
will help us to identify other plants that can be modified with this very
desirable trait.
While
there is a need for the NWC (National Water Commission) to tap into these other
water resources and also introduce water recycling as described in my blog article
entitled “Water
Wastage at MICO - How Waste Water Recycling and Rainwater Harvesting benefits
Agriculture” we also need more plant varieties that can grow with either
less water or water that’s saline.
Samson
Vilvil Fare drives home this point about the plant and out shared problem with
climate change, quote: The dasheen we develop taste the same, look the same and
took the same amount of time for maturity and so all that will be required is
for farmers here to plant them. “Dasheen needs water to grow and mature but
this variety needs less water, so under drought condition it will be able to
produce and if sea level was to rise where its planted and the salt water gets
into the soil, that variety will not died because it’s also resistance to high
salinity levels”.
Desalination is too
expensive – Transgenic salt water loving plants and Agricultural towers needed
Desalination
is definitely not on the books. So making plants that can grow with Salt water gives
Caribbean and Pacific islands more options to play with.
It
will also allow us to fulfill our export obligations, such as exporting hot peppers
and dasheen to Trinidad and Tobago as noted in the article “Jamaica to
Export Hot Pepper and Dasheen to Trinidad”, published March 24, 2015 By
Marlon Tingling, the Jamaica Information Service.
We
are currently facing the reality of climate change as the sea gets close each
year. Aside from more usage of water resources, recycling water and
super-efficient plants, we also need to look at the idea of agricultural towers
that use aquaponics in vertical towers to use land space efficiently to grow
food as explained in my blog article
entitled “How
IGES Canada Ltd Vertical Hydroponic Aquaponic Towers make low cost Organic
foods”.
Developing
transgenic plants that can survive with less water in salty soil is a long term
solution for Jamaica's drought problem and coming battle with the sea.
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