In the quiet farming community of Conception Village in northern Belize, the day begins before sunrise. For Ervin Aban, those early hours are part of the daily effort to keep his farm going.At just five years into farming on his land independently, Ervin has already built a life around farming, one rooted in resilience, independence, and deep community ties. He grows cabbage, sweet corn, cilantro, cucumbers, and watermelons, tending each crop with care and determination.“I like that I’m my own boss,” he says with a small smile, glancing across his fields. “And when things are going good, I can help others too, give work to people right here in the village.”But lately, things have not been going as planned.Even before the forecasted drought fully settles in, Ervin says he is already seeing signs of trouble. The rain has been inconsistent, the heat is more intense, and the soil is less forgiving.“This year, the dry coming early,” he explains as he walks between rows of cabbage. “You could feel it… and now you could see it too.”
  The Belize Meteorological Service has warned that districts like Corozal could experience below-average rainfall this season, influenced by the El Niño climate pattern. For farmers like Ervin, this is more than a forecast, it is a looming threat. He knows it well. Just two years ago, drought conditions devastated his farm.“I lost over 2,000 watermelon plants,” he recalls. “Just like that...gone. It hurt, because that is your work, your time, your investment.”As we continue across his farm, Ervin points toward his cabbage patch. At first glance, the leaves appear healthy, but closer inspection reveals small holes and damage creeping across the crops.“Drought is not just about no water,” he explains. “It brings more pests.” When surrounding vegetation dries out, insects migrate in search of new food sources—often straight to cultivated farms.“When they have nowhere else to go, they come here,” he says. “And they destroy everything in one night sometimes.”It’s a ripple effect that can quickly spiral out of control, less water leads to weaker crops, which attract more pests, resulting in greater losses for farmers already struggling.But this year, something is different. For the first time, Ervin is among a group of pre-identified farmers receiving anticipatory cash assistance, support delivered before the drought fully takes hold.Through a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and New Growth Industries, the National Meteorological Services, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Belize has activated its Anticipatory Action (AA) mechanism for drought.This means that farmers in vulnerable districts like Corozal receive financial support early, giving them time to prepare.For Ervin, that support has already made a difference. “With the money, I buy tarpaulin to protect my seedlings,” he says, gesturing toward a shaded nursery area. “And I buy gas to run my water pump from the well.”These may seem like small adjustments, but in farming, timing is everything. Acting early can mean the difference between saving a crop or losing it entirely.
Still, uncertainty lingers.“If the dry continues, I could still lose everything,” Ervin admits. “And if I don’t have crops, I don’t have income.”The consequences ripple beyond his own household. Like many farmers, Ervin supports extended family members, and his produce contributes to food availability across districts.“Belize depends on farming,” he says. “If drought affects us, it affects everybody...the food we grow, the price, the availability.”Across the Caribbean, the effects of El Niño have begun to reshape weather patterns—bringing prolonged dry spells or increased rainfall, rising temperatures, and placing added stress on water systems and agriculture. These shifts pose serious risks to food security, especially in countries where local farming is central to both livelihoods and national supply.That is why anticipatory action is gaining importance—not only as a response, but as a strategy.By working closely with the National Meteorological Services, WFP has helped strengthen how climate information is used in Belize. Seasonal forecasts are now better interpreted and communicated, enabling early warnings to translate into early action on the ground.For farmers like Ervin, it means having a fighting chance. Belize’s progress in building an anticipatory action system for drought has been made possible through strong partnerships and the support of committed donors, including the Government of Canada, the European Union, the German Government, the Government of Ireland, and the United States Government.Their contributions are helping ensure that resources reach farmers before disaster strikes, protecting livelihoods, strengthening resilience, and safeguarding food systems.For Ervin Aban, that support is not abstract, it is visible in the tarpaulin shielding his seedlings, in the pump drawing water from the earth, and in his determination to continue farming despite the odds.Because in Conception Village, the story of drought is still unfolding.But so too is the story of resilience—one farmer, one field, and one early action at a time.



 

 At the 2026 Annual Coordination Meeting held virtually on 16 June 2026 in Belize City, the United Nations System and Caribbean governments introduced a new framework for guiding their development cooperation over the next five years. The Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) for 2027-2031 was the subject of a hybrid regional meeting that included Resident Coordinators and government ministers, as well as representatives of UN agencies and development partners from across the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. During the open floor session, representatives from Grenada, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica and Belize each expressed their governments' broad acceptance of and commitment to the MSDCF 2027–2031. Countries pledged national ownership, called for stronger data systems, and welcomed the framework's sharper, more catalytic focus as a decisive improvement over the previous cycle. THE FOUR OUTCOMES: A Sharper Framework for Caribbean Resilience This MSDCF marks a decisive shift from broad aspiration to focused, measurable action, built around four interconnected outcomes that address the Caribbean's most urgent development priorities.Outcome One — Economic Diversification & Inclusive EconomiesCaribbean economies must grow beyond narrow sectors and legacy dependencies. This outcome targets small producers, women entrepreneurs, youth, and indigenous communities, helping them participate in green, blue, orange, and circular value chains. The UN will invest in digital public infrastructure for micro-enterprises, regional trade integration, climate-resilient food systems, inclusive finance, and future-ready skills — so that by 2031, economic opportunity is no longer concentrated in the hands of a few.Outcome Two — Resilience to ShocksWith 80 per cent more extreme weather events since 1980 and over 70 per cent of critical infrastructure in high-risk coastal zones, climate vulnerability is the region’s defining challenge. This outcome embeds anticipatory, risk-informed development into national systems – strengthening governance, early warning data, climate finance, community-level preparedness, and nature-based solutions. The 2025 response to Hurricane Melissa, which mobilised over USD 100 million in combined support, demonstrated exactly the coordinated action this outcome seeks to institutionalise.Outcome Three — Integrated Social ServicesAgeing populations, migration pressures, and recurring climate shocks are straining already constrained social systems across the region. This outcome focuses on building health, education, and social protection institutions that remain functional before, during, and after crises, not improvised in the heat of an emergency. Digital civil registration systems, inclusive life-course services, and shock-responsive social protection will ensure that vulnerable groups from early childhood through older age are reached, counted, and protected.Outcome Four — Resilience to Crime and Violence  Crime-related losses cost the Caribbean an estimated 3.83 per cent of regional GDP annually, and the impacts fall hardest on women, young men, migrants, and marginalised communities. This outcome calls for a shift from fragmented, reactive policing toward coordinated, prevention-first, community-led action. It addresses transnational crime networks, strengthens justice institutions, and in a notable recognition of emerging needs, elevates mental health and trauma-informed services as central to breaking cycles of violence across generations.“Behind every indicator in this framework is a human being, and behind every target, a family, behind every outcome, a life. So let us never lose sight of that, and let us never stop until every one of these lives is better for having been here.” — Dennis Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator, Multi-Country Office (MCO) Jamaica, Incoming Chair of the Regional Steering Committee  From Alignment to ExecutionWhat distinguishes the MSDCF 2027–2031 from its predecessors is not its ambition — it is its discipline. The previous framework was acknowledged as relevant but too broad, spreading resources thinly and making it difficult to demonstrate collective impact. The new cycle responds with fewer but clearer outcomes, stronger links between action and results, and renewed Country Implementation Plans that governments must actively own and review.During the meeting, leadership of the Regional Steering Committee was formally passed during the meeting from Resident Coordinator Raul Salazar, who had guided the consultative process among multiple Caribbean nations, to RC Dennis Zulu of Jamaica, who will steer implementation through the framework’s first cycle. The handover, marked by Belizean cultural performances, underscored that behind every policy document lie real communities with history, identity, and a stake in the future.RC Salazar closed by reminding delegates that contributions from governments, civil society, development partners, and UN agencies had helped ensure the framework remains grounded in the needs, priorities, and aspirations of the region. He called on all present to carry forward the theme of the meeting - One Caribbean, One Framework, One Future - as the region moves from preparation to implementation.  

Tens of thousands of fisherfolk across the Caribbean will have the chance to be better protected against hurricanes from the next Atlantic Hurricane Season onwards, thanks to a pioneering anticipatory action (AA) instrument developed jointly by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility).The first-of-its-kind mechanism is designed to release funds to vulnerable fishing communities up to three days before a hurricane makes landfall – well before losses and damages materialize – giving fisherfolk the time and means to secure their boats, remove their engines, protect their equipment and seek shelter, ultimately reducing the risk of lost lives and livelihoods.  The instrument addresses a long-standing dilemma. Every time a hurricane forms in the Atlantic, fisherfolk face a difficult choice: stay ashore and lose the income that sustains their families, or head out to sea under deteriorating conditions, hoping to make use of the last hours before the storm. Either way, what is at stake is the lives and livelihoods of the people who power one of the region's most vital economic sectors - and one of its most exposed and least financially protected.  Recent storms, including, Hurricanes Beryl, in 2024, and Melissa, in 2025, have made this clear once again: despite robust early warning systems and timely alerts, many fishing households simply did not have the financial means to act safely in the days before landfall. The warning arrived, but the real ability to act on it did not always follow.  From response to anticipationThe AA instrument builds directly on the operational model of COAST – the Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability Facility – the world’s first parametric insurance product designed specifically for the fisheries sector, launched in 2019 and currently held by seven Caribbean countries. The AA instrument draws on the same fully probabilistic hurricane risk models that already underpin CCRIF's parametric insurance policies but introduces a decisive innovation: rather than paying after an event, it pays ahead of one, with anticipatory payouts driven by transparent, verifiable trigger conditions liked to reliable hurricane forecasts.  Anchoring the triggers in probabilistic risk models is not a minor technical detail. It allows for a rigorous definition of how frequently the AA instrument will be activated, which in turn determines its operating cost and underpins its long-term financial sustainability. Because forecast-based triggers tend to activate more often than past observed events alone would suggest, the pricing is carefully calibrated - through adjusted thresholds, geographic refinements and premium loadings, so the product remains both operationally useful and financially sound.Caribbean fisherfolk work in one of the most hazard-prone environments on the planet, and at the same time in one of the sectors least covered by traditional financial protection schemes. This new instrument is designed to close that gap, extending COAST’s established fisheries insurance model with an anticipatory action whose objective is to reduce the risk of losing lives and to strengthen the social safety nets of the most vulnerable households.The technical foundations for the instrument were established through a UNDRR-commissioned study under the Early Warnings for All initiative, focused on three pilot countries - Barbados, Jamaica and Dominica. The study confirmed that an anticipatory action instrument for hurricane wind impacts is technically feasible and well aligned with the region’s existing forecasting and risk-transfer systems.In addressing the value of the AA instrument, CCRIF CEO stated, ““This anticipatory action instrument represents the next frontier in disaster risk financing for the Caribbean. For the first time, fisherfolk will have access to resources before a hurricane makes landfall, allowing them to act early, protect their livelihoods, and stay safe. By combining CCRIF’s proven parametric modelling with reliable hurricane forecasts, we are closing another critical gap in the region’s resilience architecture”, Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, CCRIF SPCA tangible result of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative.The AA instrument is a concrete example of how collaboration between the United Nations system, Member States, organizations such as CCRIF and the private sector can translate the commitments under the UN Secretary-General's Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative into action. It connects the four pillars of the EW4All approach - risk knowledge, monitoring and forecasting, warning communication and response capacity - within a single operational mechanism that brings together innovation, data, science, finance and community needs.By design, the mechanism carries strong potential for scale-up across the whole Caribbean and allows for replication in other regions in the world where hurricanes occur, as well as expansion to other forecastable hazards such as droughts, lightning and heavy rainfall, which also disrupt the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities.  The product is structured as a macro- or meso-scale insurance solution: rather than paying individual fishers, it pays an intermediary institution that channels funds to affected communities. The World Food Programme (WFP) has expressed strong interest in serving as policyholder and has confirmed its capacity to disburse funds to fisherfolk rapidly and at scale, with organizations such as OCHA or national governments able to play the same role.CCRIF has incorporated this new product within its portfolio and, in collaboration with UNDRR and other UN agencies and funding from the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Caribbean project, is working with governments throughout the region to sign on to this ground-breaking instrument. The goal is broad adoption across the Caribbean, alongside progress on remaining challenges - including the mechanisms needed to deliver cash to fisherfolk within the narrow window before a hurricane strikes. Reaching that point will require new partnerships around financial inclusion, progress on formalizing employment and stronger governance across the fisheries value chain, including better registries of boats, fisherfolk and other workers, as well as attracting additional resources to develop similar products for other forecastable hazards.Behind every anticipatory disbursement lies a decision made in time: a boat tied down in a safe harbour, an engine put away, a family that does not go to sea under a warning. Behind each of those small acts lies a larger shift, from a model in which vulnerable communities wait for disaster to occur to receive support, toward one in which protection arrives earlier, grounded in science, sustained by partnerships and designed to scale. ............................................................This story was first published by UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

Bridgetown, 16 June 2026: The United Nations Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, along with key partners, are advancing a capital‑first approach to food systems transformation, positioning the sector as a viable and strategic asset class for investment across the region.A high‑level Food Systems Investment Forum convened in Barbados yesterday, under the theme Mobilizing Equity Capital for Resilient Food Systems in the Caribbean, brought together Ministers of Agriculture and senior representatives from across the Caribbean, alongside international financial institutions, private investors, and development partners, to drive forward a shared agenda of investment-led transformation.The opening session, ‘From Policy to Capital Deployment,’ underscored the urgent need to bridge the financing gap in Caribbean food systems and unlock new sources of private capital.  Delivering Opening Remarks, Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator forBarbados and the Eastern Caribbean stressed that that Caribbean food systems remained under pressure with capital flows misaligned,  financing still dominated by loans or grants and patient equity largely absent. At the same time, he noted that private investment was also being directed into other sectors like real estate – and not into the productive food economy.He urged governments to strengthen enabling environments and encouraged investors to recognize the emerging pipeline across agriculture fisheries, processing, and logistics.“The opportunity is here. Capital exists. But they are not connected in a structured and meaningful way. This forum is designed to change that …through a different kind of conversation - one that starts with capital: how investors assess risk, what makes a project bankable, and what actually unlocks deals,” he said.Building on this call to action, John Morris, Chairman of International Asset Management and Managing Partner of the CaribGROW Fund, emphasized that Caribbean businesses with proven revenue, experienced management, and defensible market positions can deliver genuine returns. “The challenge is not the opportunity—the challenge is capital,” he noted. Drawing on the New York Knicks as an analogy, Morris described capital markets as a team sport, where success requires diverse actors working together. He credited multilateral institutions, development finance, regional banks, and governments for laying the foundations, but underscored that equity remains the missing ingredient. “Equity is where ownership, wealth creation, and wealth retention live,” he explained, warning that without it, businesses struggle to scale and remain vulnerable to foreign acquisition. “We take minority stakes, so families retain control and wealth stays in the region,” he concluded.With the stage set by Mr. Springett’s call for structured capital flows and Mr. Morris’ emphasis on equity, the Forum turned to its final speaker, Dr. The Honourable Shantal Munro‑Knight, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, Barbados, who captured the buzz already  evident in the room. She noted the shared sense of purpose among participants: “This is an acknowledgement that we  have come here to do something big—and that is important. I also see in the room, people of like minds who I do not have to convince of the importance of the conversation, and the importance  that dialogue around food systems has moved beyond just production.”Framing food systems as one of the most significant economic and development opportunities for the Caribbean, Minister Munro‑Knight urged both governments and investors to recognize the transformative potential. “If you want an equation that answers one of the most fundamental challenges facing this region—our food security—while also enabling social and structural economic transformation, then you’re in the right place at the right time,” she declared.Drawing parallels to the Bridgetown Initiative, she stressed that ‘meeting the moment’ requires innovative partnerships that treat Caribbean voices as equal at the table and rethink how capital is structured and delivered. “Food systems are about big things—logistics, agro‑processing, cold chains, digital transformation, technology in agriculture. These are investable opportunities, big investable opportunities,” she emphasized as she called on private sector partners to walk alongside governments.  “We’ve come to the table—meet us with your capital,” she implored. The one-day Forum was designed to move beyond traditional dialogue by facilitating direct engagement between investors and governments, presenting investment-ready opportunities, and advancing transaction development and partnerships. Participants engaged in investor roundtables, thematic sessions, and bilateral meetings aimed at accelerating capital deployment and scaling resilient food systems initiatives. By focusing on equity capital, blended finance, and market-driven solutions, the Forum sought to unlock the full economic and resilience potential of Caribbean food systems while advancing progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.At its conclusion, the UN launched an official Deal Book. The curated portfolio highlights USD320M in investment-ready opportunities across the region’s food systems. This product is designed to continue the deal making commenced during the forum, and  catalyze partnerships between investors and enterprises. Media Contacts:Carol A. Gaskin, Communications and Advocacy Officer, UN Resident Coordinator Officer Email: carol-ann.gaskin@un.org.......................................................................This story was first published by UN Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.