CSIDS SOILCARE Phase 1 Project
Department of Analytical Services Conducts In-Country Training to Sampling Team ahead of National Soil Survey under the
A training session on soil sampling and processing techniques was hosted by Mr. Vernon Bird, Analyst at the Department of the Analytical Services within the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday, June 1st, 2023, for the technical team conducting the National Soil Surveys in Antigua and Barbuda under the project, “Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Multicountry Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Food Systems: Phase 1 (CSIDS_SOILCARE Phase 1)”.
The project is a joint venture between the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), Global Environment Facility (GEF), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the University of the West Indies (UWI)- St. Augustine and the UNCCD. These partnerships in collaboration with country governments allow cooperation between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer for sustainable land management to meet SDGs.
The technical team comprises of technicians from the Agricultural Extension Division, Forestry Division, Statistics, Research and IT Division, and Department of Analytical Services.
As Antigua & Barbuda prepares to roll out its national soil survey, the objectives of this training were to brief members of the sampling team on basic characteristics of soil, soil sampling and processing protocols before the arrival of the University of the West Indies (UWI)- St. Augustine team led by Dr. Gaius Eudoxie.
The training outlined a set of indicators and techniques for assessing soil health by assessing the organic matter, soil texture, earthworm count, soil structure, soil color, and soil aeration and compaction. Soil Productivity, Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Bulk Density, and Soil Respiration are the four fundamental indicators that will be evaluated during the series of testing. The UWI team from Trinidad will also assess additional indicators namely nutrient content, pH, erosion, etc., and conduct Visual Soil Assessments (VSA).
The outcome of this exercise will be the production of state-of-the-art soil maps that will provide data on soil organic content and amongst other outputs to include capacity building for technicians within the Ministry of Agriculture. The information gathered will update our current soil knowledge nationally and regionally which will assist in establishing the Caribbean Soil Laboratory Network and the Caribbean Soil Information System for guiding the rehabilitation of degraded land and soils, building resilience against natural disasters and climate change, enhancing food systems, and creating alternative livelihoods within the agricultural sector.
This will assist Antigua & Barbuda in increasing its capacity to prioritize measures that will advance integrated landscape management and rehabilitate degraded areas. The 3-week exercise will commence on Monday 5th June with an official launch at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters and our technicians will then begin surveys in Barbuda from June 6th to 10th and in Antigua from June 12th to 21st which will cover the five agricultural districts.
The team will sample about 120 sites which will span both Antigua and Barbuda where two subsamples will be taken at each sampling point. Given the vast amount of samples, it is highly likely that some sites may fall on private properties and the sampling team would require access to successfully undertake the activity. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture kindly requests the cooperation of the public and private property owners in facilitating the technical project team’s access to designated sites. Team members will be identifiable with their respective uniforms, IDs and government issued/branded vehicles.
Without soil, life on Earth would be very challenging for humans. Soil is an essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and vital for food security.
