Save the Children in partnership with MAL launches NZ funded C-Care Project

Over 2,500 direct participants in 24 communities in Malaita and Choiseul provinces will benefit from a climate adaptation project focused on food security in Solomon Islands.

Save the Children today in partnership with the Ministry for Agriculture and Livestock launched the New Zealand Government funded, Climate Change Adaptation, Resilience and Empowerment (C-CARE) project.  The project will enhance resilience and adaptation to the impacts of climate change at the community level, specifically for women, girls and people with disabilities.

“New Zealand is pleased and proud to be supporting Save the Children, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the 24 communities involved in C-CARE. The project is an excellent example of how cooperation between countries, government agencies and communities themselves can work in the climate change space,” New Zealand High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, His Excellency Jonathan Schwass, said during the launch of the project in Honiara today.

C-CARE will increase community members understanding of the impacts of climate change on food security and livelihoods.  Communities will improve their food security and develop nutrition smart and climate-smart agricultural management skills.  Women will receive technical food processing and food preservation training and women’s groups will receive investment capital for small businesses.

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Save the Children for yet another significant milestone”, Deputy Secretary Corporate Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Elda Wate said in her acknowledgement speech.

Mrs. Wate says the Ministry of Agriculture supports initiatives like C-CARE and other agricultural endeavors to empower local farmers to attain and maintain sustainability within their rural landscapes.

“We have no choice but to adapt to the changing climate, to the new movement of the sea, to the changes in the rain and the heat of the sun. This means adapting what food is grown, where food is grown and how food is grown”, Save the Children in Solomon Islands Country Director, Lisa Cuatt said during the launch in Honiara today.

Solomon Islands population is concentrated in coastal zones on low elevation islands with high climate sensitivity due to ecosystems & natural resources important for livelihood and food security.  With agriculture and fisheries providing food for up to 80% of the population who live in rural communities. Climate change is a leading threat to food security and biodiversity in Solomon Islands.

C-CARE is a 4-year project supported by the New Zealand government through its Climate Finance for Community Resilience Programme.

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– Save the Children Press Release