ADAPT Jamaica: Enhancing climate change resilience of vulnerable smallholders in Central Jamaica

Jamaica faces growing climate risks as rising temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme weather events threaten its ecosystems and rural livelihoods. The country is experiencing stronger hurricanes, erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and more frequent flooding, which place significant pressure on fragile island ecosystems and coastal zones. These climate impacts are particularly severe in the agricultural sector, making farmers vulnerable to crop losses, reduced yields, and disruptions to market access. Recent hurricanes have exposed these vulnerabilities, destroying crops, damaging rural infrastructure, and weakening already fragile safety nets for farming communities.

ADAPT Jamaica responds to these challenges by transforming agricultural production systems across six central parishes—Trelawny, Saint Ann, Saint Elizabeth, Clarendon, Saint Catherine, and Manchester. The initiative aims to strengthen climate resilience among smallholder farmers by promoting Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) practices and reducing food loss and waste across agricultural value chains.

The project combines practical on-farm demonstrations, farmer training, and the scaling up of low-cost climate-resilient farming practices. It also strengthens Jamaica’s agrometeorological network to deliver timely climate information and early warning systems, enabling farmers to make better production decisions. In addition, the project supports policy reforms, public-private partnerships, and improved access to finance to encourage long-term investment in climate-resilient agriculture.

Through these integrated interventions, ADAPT Jamaica seeks to enhance food security, stabilise farmer incomes, and build a more resilient agricultural sector capable of withstanding future climate shocks. This is GCF’s first single-country project in Jamaica.