SANREM CRSP

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SANREM CRSP Sustainable Agriculture and Natural
Resource Management (SANREM)Collaborative
Research Support Program (CRSP)Office of
International Research, Education and Development
(OIRED) at Virginia Tech
USAID
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SANREM CRSP Planning Award Application Lead
Institution Agricultural and Biological
Engineering Department, University of
Florida Title Caribbean Food Systems
Vulnerability to Global Environmental Change PI
James W. Jones, Professor, Agricultural
Biological Engineering Department, University of
Florida. CO-PIs Walter Baethgen, Director, Latin
America/Caribbean Program, International Research
Institute for Climate Prediction, Columbia
University Mike Brklacich, Professor, Department
of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton
University, John Ingram, Director, GECAFS
International Project Office Arvin R. Mosier,
Visiting Professor, Agricultural Biological
Engineering Department, University of Florida
Ranjit Singh, Head of Department of Economics and
Extension, The University of the West Indies
Sergio Sepulveda, Inter-American Institute for
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Adrian
Trotman, The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology
and Hydrology
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Objectives and Approach for a 4-year SANREM CRSP
Project. The thrust of the research for the
SANREM Project (GECAFS Caribbean Phase II) will
characterise the food systems for three case
study countries (Guyana, Haiti, and Jamaica), and
deliver an assessment of GEC and socioeconomic
stresses on these case-study Caribbean food
systems.
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Objectives and Approach for a 4-year SANREM CRSP
Project. (Continued) The characterization and
assessment will explore gender specific issues
related to each phase of each food system. These
products will underpin the development of a
prototype decision support system (DSS) that will
be designed to link GEC and national and regional
food systems.
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• To implement these objectives we will first
  enlist the aid of the country-based USAID Mission
  offices to locate partners and use GECAFS
  relations within CARICOM, CARDI, UWI, CIMH, IICA
  and IFRPI . Working with these partners, we will
  develop a project to
• identify key food systems and their
  vulnerabilities,
• develop different scenarios as to the effect of
  GEC on the Caribbean single market approach and
  economy,
• adapt the University of Florida climate risk DSS
  (Jones et al. 1998 SEC, 2005) to key food
  systems,
• and integrate the food production DSS with
  socioeconomic factors to permit use of DSS to
  make decisions on adaptation of food systems.

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We expect to use this program for training
systems scientists by engaging Ph.D. level
students, emphasis will be placed on recruiting
female students, from each country in DSS
development, and additional students who will
direct their efforts into scenarios development
and integrating production DSS with socioeconomic
development.
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Research will be closely coordinated on a
regional basis and tied to the international
GECAFS project within the overall GECAFS
conceptual framework.
Conditions Scenarios
Vulnerability Impacts
Feedbacks
Decision Support
Current Food Systems
Adapted Food Systems
Adaptation
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Users Stakeholders

GECAFS-DSS Approach for region
or country analysis of Food Systems and GEC
Food System

Climate Risk DSS Socioeconomic Assessment of
Adapted FS
Assess Vulnerability of FS

Scenarios of GEC FS

New FS
Adapted FS
GECAFS DSS Based on UF Climate
DSS http//www.agclimate.org
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Activities and Products for a 4-year SANREM CRSP
Project Output 1 Standardized characterisation
and classification of food systems for three
country case studies (Guyana, Haiti, and
Jamaica). Activity 1.1 Identify food
systems Activity 1.2 Characterise and quantify
natural resources and socio-economic
conditions Activity 1.3 Document and
disseminate findings
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Output 2 Initial assessments of vulnerability of
the food systems. Activity 2.1 Assess
vulnerability of the food system Activity 2.2
Synthesise methodologies and results of different
case studies Activity 2.3 Document and
disseminate findings
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Output 3 Analysis of socioeconomic and
environmental tradeoffs of alternative food
policy and technical options at national and
regional levels. Activity 3.1 Construct
scenarios for the case study countries and the
region considering the feedbacks from the global
and national food systems
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Output 4 Identify and involve users of Decision
Support Systems for analysing socioeconomic and
environmental consequences of alternative
policies and GEC in prototype DSS
design. Activity 4.1 Identify key DSS users and
define key biophysical and socioeconomic
variables for DSS inputs and outputs Activity
4.2 Develop DSS conceptual framework, and
identify processes and mechanisms for linking the
country models with the regional scenarios of
food and water Activity 4.3 Review and
preliminary testing of the DSS in the case study
sites Activity 4.5 Develop regional-scale DSS
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Output 5 Capacity building of regional
stakeholders and scientists through collaborative
analysis. Activity 5.1 Conduct interactive
workshops involving policy advisors and
researchers Activity 5.2 Conduct Demonstration
Workshops for the regional policy makers on DSSs
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Users Stakeholders

GECAFS-DSS Approach for region
or country analysis of Food Systems and GEC
Food System

Climate Risk DSS Socioeconomic Assessment of
Adapted FS
Assess Vulnerability of FS

Scenarios of GEC FS

New FS
Adapted FS
GECAFS DSS Based on UF Climate
DSS http//www.agclimate.org
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• Planning Grant Review Comments
• This is primarily a policy level analysis with
  limited scientific contributionsno hypotheses.
• Impressive approach to looking at the problem on
  multiple levels, combining crop engineering,
  climatology, soils, economics and other fields.
• The research approach seems to assume that food
  insecurity is due to extreme weather events.
  This is certainly one factor, but there are other
  major factors, such as political instability.
• Application seems unfamiliar with the climate
  risk group work and didnt address integration
  with the socioeconomic side and partner
  institutions.

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GECAFS/SANREM Partnerships
Caribbean Wide CARICOM Sam Lawrence CIAT
Eugene Levael IICA Sergio Supelveda Adrian
Rodriguez Errol Berkeley CIMH Adrian
Trotman UWI Ranjit Singh Cropper Foundation
Angela Cropper USAID Chris Kosnik
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GECAFS/SANREM Partnerships
Guyana USAID Mission Winston Harlequin Dhanmatti
e Sohai IICA National Agricultural Research
Institute Haiti USAID Mission Marc-Eddy
Martin CIAT Eugene Levael Quisqueya
University Regine Louis Luc D.
Bretous Jamaica USAID Mission Diane
Dormer Karen McDonald Gayle Jamaican
Agricultural Ministry Richard Harrison