Havana, March 12 (RHC)-- Representatives of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Board of the Green Climate Fund signed in Geneva  an agreement for the implementation of the first collaborative project with Cuban agriculture.

For the FAO co-designed project, the Green Climate Fund will contribute $38.2 million, while the Government of Cuba provides $81.7 million in co-financing for the project.

Announced by the Fund's board meeting on Thursday in Geneva, this is the first project in Cuba to be supported by the Green Climate Fund.

The seven-year project aims to mitigate around 2.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions while working with 52.000 family farmers - almost half of them women - and introducing agroforestry practices on 35.000 hectares.

Pedro Luis Pedroso, the permanent representative of the Republic of Cuba to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said on Twitter that the project will benefit some 240,000 people.

Maury Hechavarría, Cuba's Deputy Minister of Agriculture, told Prensa Latina that by introducing innovative methods and financial incentives, the project will help preserve the ecosystem and increase productivity in seven of the country's municipalities that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Similarly, Marcelo Resende, FAO representative on the Caribbean island, said that the program is essentially designed to help the agricultural sector adapt to global warming, which is why it will introduce innovative agro-forestry practices on 35 000 hectares.