CATIE and IUCN promote a participatory financing model for sustainable soil management in St. Kitts and Nevis

• Róger Madrigal, coordinator of CATIE's Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness Unit (UEAAS/EfD), facilitated the workshop alongside IUCN representatives.

With the aim of advancing more sustainable agriculture, CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) held two participatory workshops in St. Kitts & Nevis from April 9 to 11. These activities are part of the project Developing a financial programme for Sustainable Land Management and Climate-Smart Agriculture practices, implemented by CATIE in coordination with IUCN. This initiative is framed within the broader project titled Improving Environmental Management through Sustainable Land Management in St. Kitts and Nevis, led by IUCN with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The workshops brought together around 40 participants, including representatives from ministries, cooperatives, producers, financial institutions, and commercial partners, among others. Participants shared key information on market access and agricultural financing and analyzed tentative scenarios for financial support. The outcomes of these workshops aim to promote sustainable soil management practices, while simultaneously facilitating access to microcredit and markets for producers.

The workshops, facilitated by Róger Madrigal, coordinator of CATIE's Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness Unit (UEAAS/EfD), together with Nikkita Browne, project coordinator, and Melvin James, technical officer specializing in agriculture, under the overall leadership of Tony Nello, expert in business engagement for nature-positive actions from IUCN’s Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, also helped identify key stakeholders who could participate in the implementation of a pilot program based on CATIE's current work.

Dialogue to build viable solutions

“These spaces are essential for developing proposals that respond to the realities of the territories and the people who produce in them. Actively listening to local stakeholders ensures that financing programs truly generate impact and become useful tools for advancing more resilient and sustainable agriculture,” said Madrigal.

In the coming weeks, the project team will systematize the collected inputs to refine the pilot program proposal, which will be shared again with local stakeholders interested and able to engage in the program, in order to ensure its relevance and feasibility.

Through initiatives like this, CATIE and IUCN reaffirm their commitment to building comprehensive solutions for sustainable rural development in Latin America and the Caribbean, fostering connections between science, financing, and sustainability.