GEORGE’S GRENADA, AUGUST 27, 2025- Barbados is the recipient of state-of-the-art soil testing equipment under an initiative which is expected to have far-reaching impacts on the environment, reducing land degradation, strengthening livelihoods, and promoting the sustainable development of communities.
The equipment, which significantly enhances the capacity of the Government Analytical Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security to conduct soil testing locally, was handed over by the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), through its Caribbean Small Island Developing States Multicountry Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Climate-Resilient Food Systems (CSIDS SOILCARE) Phase 1 Project- funded by the Global Environmental Facility and implemented with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization.
PISLM’s Executive Director, Dr. Ronen Francis, handed over the equipment to Dr. Beverly Wood- Director of the Government Analytical Services, on Thursday, 21st August 2025.
Dr. Francis affirmed, that the initiative underscored the importance of protecting and restoring our lands, as not only an environmental imperative, but rather a moral and economic obligation, that secures a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come.
“We value the laboratory equipment as far more than the transfer of machinery and tools, but rather an investment in the people of Barbados, that brings them one step closer to combating soil productivity loss, enhancing agricultural production and food security and improving the lives of those who depend on the land.”
“The equipment improves and adds to the suite of equipment that we already have at the laboratory,” commented Dr. Beverly Wood- Director of Government Analytical Services.
She also suggested that Barbados’ representation and participation in the PISLM- SOILCARE Laboratory Technicians training as a part of the Caribbean Soil Laboratory Network
(CARSOLAN), in collaboration with the UWI, and the Global Soil Partnership, positions Barbados to deliver on national objectives while utilizing the equipment received.
Mr. David Leacock- Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy, explained that the equipment will help the country go a long way with analysing its soils.
The equipment worth Thirty Thousand United States Dollars ($30,000USD) will allow Barbados to tailor its soil management practices to the specific soil characteristics and use, develop precision Crop management strategies, develop monitoring mechanisms for land cover and land productivity and monitor carbon sequestration. The handover of equipment reaffirms our Inter-Governmental Organization’s solidarity with Caribbean Small Island States in the ongoing effort to protect our soils, restore our lands, and secure a resilient future for generations to come.
