USAID Launches Initiative Promoting Climate-Resilient Growth and Economic Stability

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The United States government has launched  the Caribbean Resilient Economies and Sectors Activity Programme (RESET) that will support a significant number of businesses, including small farmers, artisanal fisherfolk and cooperatives in the region.

From left to right, Mervyn Farroe – Regional Representative for USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Karin B. Sullivan – Deputy Chief of Mission, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Patricia Shako – Chief of Party, Caribbean Resilient Economies and Sectors Activity and Patrick Antoine – Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director, CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO).The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the programme in the margins of the ongoing Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) that ends on Friday.

“RESET will contribute to preparing Caribbean countries to mitigate and adapt to adverse economic shocks resulting from climate events. We will collaborate with governments, the private sector, women, youth, and marginalized communities as partners and friends to tackle the issue of climate resilience and adaptation together,” said US Deputy Chief of Mission for the Eastern Caribbean and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Karin Sullivan.

USAID said it reflects Washington’s ongoing commitment to safeguard the development gains of countries and advancing sustainable and resilient development, especially in the context of a changing climate.

RESET will support more than 10,000 businesspeople, including small farmers, artisanal fisherfolk, and cooperatives, to advance the sustainability of their businesses by adopting and applying climate and/or disaster-smart practices.

“This USAID initiative will also scale access to finance for small and medium businesses, using tools such as debt swaps and parametric insurance and other de-risking tools that will result in significant leveraged resources to benefit the 11 countries in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.”

Caribbean RESET is led by Abt Global in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organization (CPSO) and Willis North Inc.

“For the past 60 years, USAID has worked steadily on its mandate to advance safer and more prosperous Caribbean communities,” said the RESET Chief of Party, Patricia Shako .

“The Eastern Caribbean region remains the second most disaster-prone region in the world, which underscores the timeliness of this programme given the increasing frequency, intensity and unpredictability of extreme weather-related events.

“RESET adopts a holistic approach to resilience building, including focus on the most vulnerable groups, who need help now more than ever,”  Shako added.

The RESET programme will benefit Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Kitts-Nevis,  St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.