The Department of Environment has secured a grant totaling two-hundred-and fifty-thousand (250,000) United States dollars under the Adaptation Fund to implement the “Innovative Technologies for Improved Water Availability to Increase Food Security in Antigua and Barbuda Project”, also known as the “AF Innovation Project.” The project aims to utilize sustainable technology to improve food security in Antigua and Barbuda by facilitating the availability and use of ground or surface water for agricultural purposes. The project will deliver this objective within a two-year time frame through two components:
1. Test the use of innovative technology to increase the availability of water for agriculture.
2. Develop policy and standards to ensure the sustained availability of water for agriculture.
The proposed technologies are solar-powered reverse osmosis units and solar-powered water pumps.
These technologies will be resilient to disruptions from grid instabilities or extreme climate events such as hurricanes. The procurement of these technologies is projected to be completed by October 2021.
The current RO plants are powered by electrical grids that require large amounts of fossil fuel oil, creating a significant dependency for both the food and water sector on the importation and combustion of fossil fuels. The importation and use of fossil fuels create harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which depletes the nation’s air quality and worsens its carbon footprint. This new technology will not only help to improve the nation’s food and water supply but also reduce our national GHG emissions.