Region
Caribbean
9 entries tagged Caribbean.
Articles — 8
-
Contribution of farmers' experiments and innovations to Cuba's agricultural innovation system
Farmers in Cuba conduct their own experiments and innovations that significantly contribute to the country's agricultural system. The study found that government support for participatory knowledge development, combined with interactive meetings like farmer field schools, enables knowledge exchange between farmers and researchers. This multi-stakeholder approach institutionalizes farmer knowledge and builds resilience in farming systems.
-
Systematic Assessment of Carbon Emissions from Renewable Energy Access to Improve Rural Livelihoods
Renewable energy technologies can expand electricity access in rural areas while reducing CO2 emissions. However, decision-makers often ignore the embedded energy and carbon costs of manufacturing solar panels and equipment. This study applies a multi-criteria decision-making tool to compare silicon, thin-film, and organic solar cells in a rural Cuban community. The analysis shows all three technologies meet local electricity needs and improve livelihoods, but their global environmental impacts differ significantly.
-
Tracing the Paths to Sustainable Production and Consumption Through Indigenous Directors, Environmental Innovation, and Sustainability Committees
Indigenous directors significantly drive sustainable production and consumption in Latin American and Caribbean energy firms, with environmental innovation and sustainability committees amplifying this effect. Analysis of 378 firms from 2012–2023 shows indigenous leadership promotes sustainable practices across all performance levels, with stronger impacts at higher quantiles when environmental innovation and committees are present. Regional, policy, and industry factors create substantial variation in outcomes.
-
Empowering Women and Building Sustainable Food Systems: A Case Study of Cuba's Local Agricultural Innovation Project
Cuba's Local Agricultural Innovation Project (PIAL) uses participatory plant-breeding and agroecological methods to build sustainable food systems while empowering women farmers. Operating across 75 municipalities, PIAL increases women's participation in farm innovation, boosts their confidence and income through diversified production and micro-enterprises, and strengthens community resilience. The program challenges gender norms, engages youth, connects local farmers with research institutions, and embeds itself in government structures to ensure long-term sustainability.
-
Intersectoral collaboration for the development of rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean
Intersectoral collaboration between governments, companies, NGOs, and local communities drives sustainable rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study finds that such partnerships overcome barriers to rural entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Educational policies, gender equality support, and institutional backing prove essential. Intersectoral collaboration emerges as critical—not merely supplementary—for rural entrepreneurship success and regional socioeconomic development.
-
Microfinance Institutions’ Successful Delivery Of Micronutrient Powders: A Randomized Trial In Rural Haiti
A randomized trial in rural Haiti tested whether microfinance institutions can effectively deliver health products to underserved populations. Micronutrient powders distributed through microfinance meetings to improve child nutrition significantly increased hemoglobin levels and reduced anemia rates compared to control groups. The results match outcomes from traditional health delivery systems, demonstrating that microfinance institutions offer a viable platform for scaling health interventions in low-income countries.
-
La Innovación y la transferencia de tecnologías en la Estación Experimental "Indio Hatuey": 50 años propiciando el desarrollo del sector rural cubano (Parte I) Innovation and technology transference at the Experimental Station "Indio Hatuey": 50 years propitiating development in the Cuban rural sector (Part I)
Cuba's Indio Hatuey Experimental Station spent 50 years developing and transferring agricultural technologies to rural farmers. The station initially focused on forage conservation to address seasonal feed shortages, then shifted to silvopastoral systems in the 1990s during economic crisis. Despite technological innovation, adoption rates remained low. The station redesigned its approach, treating technology transfer as part of rural territorial development rather than isolated innovation, conducting research in six municipalities with locally relevant results.
-
From technology transfer to innovation-based rural development: A necessary turn at the Indio Hatuey experimental station
Cuba's economic crisis in the 1990s prompted the Indio Hatuey Experimental Station to shift from technology transfer to innovation-based rural development. The station adopted a holistic, territorial approach to research and education in pasture and forage production. This transformation improved farm environmental outcomes, strengthened food security and sustainable agriculture, and created horizontal networks connecting researchers, farmers, and institutions across local and provincial levels to address climate change and rural development challenges.
Media stories — 1
-
The Next Generation of Agtech in Brazil
Agrosmart, a Brazilian agtech startup founded in 2014, uses artificial intelligence and sensor technology to help over 100,000 farmers across nine countries optimize irrigation, planting, and crop care decisions. The company's app monitors 48 million hectares and provides real-time weather forecasts and soil data. As Latin America's agtech market grows toward $10.4 billion by 2033, Agrosmart exemplifies how integrated data platforms address climate unpredictability in tropical agriculture.