ST GEORGE, GRENADA– Preparations are being put in place for the conducting of a National Soil Survey throughout the state of Grenada; the last such initiative was undertaken 65 years ago.
This National Soil Survey will be led by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and will focus on the structure of the soil, its stability, organic matter content, texture and infiltration capacity.
The survey, which forms part of the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS) SOILCARE Project, will be rolled out from 27th March 2023 to 14th April 2023 through the assistance of Extension Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Eight Caribbean Countries- Guyana, Belize, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Haiti, Grenada, Antigua – are benefiting from this project. In Grenada a number of sites have been identified for soil sampling; Les Avocat in St. David, Chambord in St. Patrick, and three sites on the island of Carriacou.
At the intervention sites, a complete assessment will be carried out and issues surrounding land degradation will be addressed. Extension Officers and Assistants were given practical exposure at the Les Avocat and Chambord sites, last week.
National Soil Care Focal Point, Allison Haynes, explained that at the respective project sites, the issues of land degradation will be addressed.
“We want to access the effectiveness of the intervention, we want to do some intervention, including improving access the areas identified, before we do whatever sustainable practices under the project. We will be doing an assessment of the area, looking at the land, looking at some key indicators for land degradation, we are going to implement the practices, then in a few years from now, we are going to come back and do a similar assessment and evaluate whether the measures that were undertaken here were effective,” Haynes added
Soil Scientist, Ronen Francis, Facilitator of the training, said the training is important for the extension officers’ effectivity in the carrying out the soil survey.
“For you as the persons going out and meeting and interacting with the farmers and other land stakeholders, it is important to understand the living body that we are walking on and making use of and understanding its dynamics, just to give us an infield understanding the of the behaviour of the soil in the different locations,” he said.
Manager of the Soil Care Project, Trevor Thompson, said Grenada is the second out of eight Caribbean islands, that will be conducting the soil survey. He said it will focus on nutrients, carbon sequestration, organic matter content etc. that will be used for the production of a soil map that will give details on different soil types across the country
“The data can also be used for engineering purposes; if you are going to build a house, a bridge, playing field, it will show if the soil is susceptible to land slippage, subsidence etc.,” Thompson noted.
One hundred and fifty samples will be conducted for sampling – 110 on mainland Grenada and 40 on the island of Carriacou.
Ministry of Agriculture and Land, Fisheries and Cooperatives…ensuring food and nutrition security.
