The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced on Friday (15 March) that Japan’s government will contribute 500,000 US dollars (460,485 euros) to the UNDP to improve Moldova’s agriculture’s resilience to climate change and disasters.
“The past few years have been difficult for the farmers all over the world, and particularly for Moldovan farmers which were affected by climate change and droughts, the various types of economic pressure from Russia, and high prices of raw materials also caused by Russia’s war,” said Yoichiro Yamada, Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova. “I can only pay great respect to the way Moldova’s farmers and the entire society have managed to cope with such challenges. I feel proud to stand with such brave people. We thank the UNDP and other UN agencies and the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture for their effective help in implementing this project.”
The one-year project will facilitate access to technologies and expertise for upgrading agro-meteorological and hydrological monitoring systems. As such, the data analytics to support agricultural planning and mitigate climate hazards will be improved and early warning systems for the agricultural sector will be enhanced, the UNDP noted in a press release.
“Extreme weather events due to climate change have been lately happening every year in Moldova. They affect primarily the agricultural sector on which the economy and most of the population’s livelihoods depend. One of the actions in this new project is a practical mitigation of climate risks through upgrading the agro-meteorological and hydrological observation network. The upgraded network will allow for having more accurate data to make well informed and timely decisions in the field of agriculture. This Japan-UNDP partnership contributes to reduction of the agricultural and economic losses caused by the natural hazards and helps Moldova to be more prepared to face climate shocks,” said Daniela Gasparikova, UNDP Resident Representative to Moldova.
Moldova’s Hydro-meteorological Service will upgrade of the agrometeorological observation network, using the support. The existing agrometeorological posts will be equipped with automatic observation systems with sensors that will track more variables, such as wind speed and direction; air temperature and humidity; precipitation; air pressure; solar radiation; sunshine duration; soil temperature; soil moisture; snow depth; leaf wetness; camera (for present weather and monitoring plant growth stages).
These upgrades will support informed decision-making in increasing agricultural productivity, resilience and sustainability, the UNDP said. By extension and automatisation of hydrometeorological observations, flood and drought forecasting capabilities will improve, helping to ensure that appropriate hydrological data, forecasts, and warnings (for flash floods and floods) are available to all relevant national agencies and population, including farmers, to reduce and mitigate damage to the country’s population and businesses, according to the UN agency.
To enhance capacities at the local level, at least seven district towns will also be assisted with the development of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction plans. At the same time, at least 20 representatives of local public authorities will be trained and informed on accessing finance for climate related activities.
Moldova’s Hydro-meteorological Service is currently undergoing a reform to enhance its climate services with the agricultural sector being a priority, with UNDP support. The key to improving the probability of forecasts lies in extending the observations network and integrating all observation points into a unified system. This integration will enable better coordination and enhance forecast accuracy, the UN agency noted.
