Page 17 - Climate Compliance

in farming. The farming population is aging and few young people are going into
farming.
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Due to the effect of global warming and climate change the overall rainfall will
decrease. However, it will fall more violently and in fewer days. This will lead
to more destruction of agricultural crops and fields due to drought as well as
flooding. The main island St .Vincent has plenty of water and only a few months
of dry season. Only 7% of agricultural land is irrigated and most farmers use a lot
of imported pesticides, herbicides and Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash (NPK)
fertiliser.

SVG is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuel for electricity generation,
transportation and cooking. It has an energy mix of 90% fossil fuels and about
10% hydro power with an increasing contribution from solar photovoltaic (PV).
Fortunately, this nation has many potential carbon neutral sources which include
geothermal, solar and wind.

In the main land, half of the energy usage is from households. Today, most people
use imported LPG gas for cooking and the use of home solar water heaters is
common. Currently, the government has installed solar panels in 3 government
buildings and in a college; people are more aware of the benefits of using solar
power.

There are three hydropower plants in Saint Vincent. With improvements and
investment, they can provide up to 20% of the country’s renewable energy.