Smart Farming for Agricultural Development in Jamaica and Dominica

Project Summary:

The grant's main outcome is "to enhance understanding of smart farming technologies for key public and private partners, enabling the government to mainstream these technologies within its policy framework". By achieving this outcome, the KGGTF grant will contribute to the PDO of the parent project (REDI II - P166279), which aims to enhance access to markets and promote climate-resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries by suggesting the policy implications of adoption. Finally, the grant aims to develop a related government investment and national policy framework to implement smart farming at the national level.

List of Activities:

Activity 1. Developing a Policy Guideline for Adoption of Smart Farming Technologies (USD 163,000) - A policy guideline will be crafted to mainstream Smart Farming Technologies within the unique agricultural landscape of Jamaica. This guideline aims to cover overarching topics regarding smart farming technologies, including: definition of smart farming, benefits for Jamaican Agriculture, global technical overview, tailoring technologies for small-scale farmers, comprehensive benefit analysis, policy and strategic alignment, necessary governmental and institutional supports, public-private partnership role, and legal framework necessities, etc.

To achieve this, a study tour will be conducted in June 2024. This will involve an international consulting firm or institute, which consists of 3-5 experts to Jamaica. The purpose of this tour is to gain a better understanding of the country context. This will involve consultations with a local consultant, and other local key stakeholders (approximately 20 people) in Jamaica. - The grant will involve the participation of the Ministry of Agriculture in Jamaica, however, the grant is designed to ensure minimal disruption to the parent project's progress by reducing the time and effort required from the Project Implementation Unit (PIU). Thus, (tentatively) a Korean consulting firm, KOSFARM, will spearhead this activity in close collaboration with a local consultant based in Jamaica.

The synthesis report will be published externally and will undergo quality assurance through Project Manager approval. 

Outputs:

(i) Study tour to Jamaica:

(ii) Synthesis report (released publicly)

Activity 2. Sharing knowledge and information among international and domestic stakeholders (USD 137,000) - An international workshop will be organized, featuring visits to model farms in Korea, tentatively set for November 2024. Led by EPIS (Korea Agriculture Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries), tentatively, the workshop aims to offer a comprehensive support package, including technical and policy assistance, private sector involvement, donor engagement, and field visits. Around 6 Jamaican government officials and other stakeholders will be invited to Korea for this educational event. EPIS will be responsible for preparing learning materials and session plans. These materials and records of the sessions will be archived and possibly shared via the WB's OLC platform. Furthermore, based on the training, compact smart farming tools, customized to meet Jamaica's specific needs and requests, will be supplied to the GoJ at a cost not exceeding USD 10,000. Jamaica will utilize this equipment at pilot sites to assess its practical effectiveness in agricultural settings. Following the trial, the GoJ will need to report in detail on the equipment's use, highlighting both successes and challenges, to the World Bank team. This feedback will be instrumental in refining the synthesis report from output 1, ensuring the integration and application of these learnings to bolster future smart farming efforts.

Outcomes:

Outputs:

• (i) An international workshop with model farm visits.
• (ii) Application of small smart farming equipment in practice (report will be included in the Synthesis report, and released publicly) 

Outcome: The activity will support the Parent Project's Subcomponent 2. 'Institutional strengthening and capacity building for public entities', enabling the GoJ to gain hands-on experience with smart farming technologies, facilitating an understanding of their practical application and potential benefits in enhancing agricultural productivity, which encourage the GoJ's future investment in smart farming technologies.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

The grant activities plan to have an external partnership with Korean agencies, including:

• KOSFAM (Korean Smart Farm R&D Foundation) for activity 1;
• EPIS (Korea Agency of Education, Promotion, and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) for activity 2.
• KOSFARM will be a main author in close collaboration with the local consultant based in Jamaica. EPIS will develop learning program and host the international workshop for various relevant stakeholders of Jamaica.