ST. GEORGE’S GRENADA– The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, and Cooperatives is looking forward to addressing the challenges farmers face with poor soil fertility and limited access to testing facilities that will help improve production, introduce innovation, and begin transformation of the agricultural industry.
Improving soil health, soil care and promoting sustainable land management practices will be the focus of the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS) Multicounty Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Food Systems (Soil Care project).
This project will assist in the restoration of degraded and idle lands. It was launched in Grenada on Tuesday, 26th July, with a special inception workshop attended by stakeholders of the sector.
These stakeholders are expected to perform their roles in the project implementation to meet its goals. That was according to Minister of State with Responsibility for Agriculture, Senator the Honourable Adrian Thomas.
He said, “this project will strengthen agriculture and help improve food production, resulting in a reduced food import bill and enhanced food security.
It would also help us improve agri-business, increasing value addition and the economy. Additionally, applying Information Communication Technology into agricultural production processes can improve productivity and increase production.”
“Healthy soil,” he added, “supports a landscape resilient to the impact of drought, flood, or fires. These soils will significantly regulate the Earth’s climate and carbon storage, an essential element in agricultural production.”
The project is a joint venture between the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the University of the West Indies. It will help Grenada to achieve its obligations under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD).
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Alva Browne, highlighting the project’s significance, spoke of the importance of facilitating regional cooperation in soil data management, staff training, and equipping of soil labs.
According to Browne, identifying new technologies, supporting crop production, and establishing demonstration farms will help transfer knowledge to Ministry staff and farmers.
He added that it “helps to prevent soil degradation, promote healthy soils, introduce sustainable soil management techniques while addressing alternative livelihood measures that can strengthen national food security and build a climate resilient Grenada.” The CIDS SOIL CARE Phase 1 Project will facilitate the use of the necessary tools for adopting policies, measures, and best practices that will support the review of legal and institutional frameworks that will advance the achievement of Grenada’s Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets.
Executive Director for the PISLM, Calvin James, who has been working with the project since 2008, spoke of the regional collaboration to make soil data available to stakeholders. “The first phase of soil care is to bring our soil data up to date and create electronic maps that are easily accessible to stakeholders; it will be used for housing and building roads, but it has to be easily accessed by all stakeholders. We also want to strengthen our soil labs so that they can keep these maps updated,” he stated.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, and Cooperatives expects that this Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS) Multicounty Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Food Systems (Soil Care project) will help to increase the health, fertility, and productivity of soils, so that the lands being farmed, will result in improved Food and Nutrition Security.
