An FST research team from Life Sciences and Physics is partnering with government and the private sector in an exciting project called Agricultural Climate Change Evaluation for Production, Transformation and Resilience (ACCEPT-Resilience). The project assesses growth and yields of climate-resilient crops, namely cassava and sweet potato, in agro-ecological zones of the main production areas in Clarendon and St. Catherine. Collaborators are the Departments of Physics and Life Sciences (UWI Mona), Project Grow Team of Desnoes and Geddes Foundation and Red Stripe Limited, the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). 

With planting already underway, the resulting data will be used to calibrate crop models for capturing extremes of rainfall and temperatures. The project will also develop an online platform and mobile app for use by farmers, extension officers and other agriculture stakeholders which will provide interactive options for simulating yields and biomass of different crop types under varying scenarios of water limitation, climate and other agronomic management options. 

In addition to significant in kind support from all the partners, the project is funded by the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) (regional and national arms) and by a grant administered by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica under the Special Climate Change Adaptation Fund of the Adaptation Program and Financing Mechanism, PPCR Jamaica. 

The UWI leads on the project are Dr. Jane Cohen (Life Sciences) and Dr. Dale Rankine (Physics).

For more on research in Life Sciences at UWI https://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/research.htm

For more on Research in Physics at UWI https://www.mona.uwi.edu/physics/research-groups

For more on the PPCR project https://caribppcr.org.jm 

For more on Project Grow http://redstripecompany.com/company/programmes/project-grow/