Climate-smart farming education in Seychelles has made progress with the installation of the first hydroponic smart-farming system at the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH).
The new infrastructure will serve as a practical demonstration site for climate-smart agriculture for learners at the institute and will facilitate educational workshops for other established growers, advancing critical knowledge and skills for sustainable farming practices. The system, installed in a greenhouse, is expected to strengthen Seychelles' food system resilience through sustainable practices and climate-smart agriculture in the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.
The project was made possible through collaborations and support from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Programme of the UNDP, UN Women, the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the joint program of the government of Seychelles, Global Environment Facility (SEF) and UNDP, known as "A Ridge to Reef (R2R) Approach for the Integrated Management of Marine, Coastal, and Terrestrial Ecosystems in Seychelles," as well as the agriculture department of the Ministry for Agriculture, Climate Change, and Environment.
Barry Nourrice, the technical consultant overseeing the installation of the greenhouse, equipment, and hydroponic system installation spoke on the need and importance for Seychelles to adopt climate-smart farming. "Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants or crops without the need for soil and instead growing your plants in aqueous media. Through the training, we found it essential to provide the trainees with basic knowledge of the technology installed on their premises. The system provides the possibility of all-year-round food production, which is protected from flooding and soil-borne diseases, as the crops are not grown on the ground. In this setup, the netting of the greenhouse will also protect the crops from pests, reducing the need for pesticides," he said.
Source: Seychelles News Agency