Over 300 farmers to benefit from Sustainable Land Management training

Some 350 Vincentian farmers are expected to benefit from a series of training workshops aimed at enhancing their knowledge and awareness of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices.{{more}}

The training is all part of a Sustainable Land Management Project being implemented by the Ministry of Health and the Environment, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This project is part of efforts geared towards the mainstreaming of Sustainable Land Management in St Vincent and the Grenadines through institutional, individual and systemic capacity building. Its main objective is to strengthen and/or develop capacities for sustainable land management in relevant government ministries, the private sector and civil society organizations, and to mainstream sustainable land management into national development planning.

The farmers’ training is but one component of this initiative. It is being conducted by former Chief Agriculture Officer/IICA Consultant Philmore Isaacs, with support from current and former agricultural practitioners. The farmers are receiving instruction in areas such as Concepts in Sustainable Land Management; Good Agriculture Practices; Soil and Water Conservation; Crop Diversification and Rotation; and Use of Soil Amendment-Compost/Pen Manure.

Consultant Philmore Isaacs says in addition to the 350 farmers who will be exposed to the training, teachers of agricultural sciences in secondary schools will also be sensitized. Other expected outputs of the initiative include the production of 500 training manuals, a video on sustainable land management practices, and the establishment of two demonstration plots on soil conservation methods at Bishops College, Kingstown and Montreal. A demonstration on sustainable land management of road verges, in collaboration with BRAGSA, will also be conducted.

So far, farmers in and around the areas of Fancy, Langley Park, New Grounds, Biabou, Marriaqua, Green Hill, Vermont and Barrouallie have benefitted. The training moves further down the Leeward side of the island next and then on to Bequia in the Grenadines.