CARDI shocked at death of employee, Gregory Linton

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has expressed shock at the death of one of its employees in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Dominican Gregory Linton.

According to police reports, Linton’s decomposing body was found in a blue Toyota Hilux parked outside the Kingstown Preparatory School on Monday. In a statement on Tuesday, CARDI said the news of Linton’s death was unbelievably shocking and deeply sad.

“Greg, a Dominican national served as the CARDI Representative in St Vincent and the Grenadines, since 2017,” the statement said. “He was a qualified Agricultural Engineer specializing in Agricultural Parasitology and a Plant Health Specialist by training.”

It said before Linton was promoted to his role as CARDI representative in SVG, he was employed as a research assistant at CARDI, Dominica working primarily under the Black Sigatoka Project, evaluating banana and plantain accessions tolerant to Black Sigatoka Disease (BSD), as part of an Integrated Management Framework for Black Sigatoka disease.

“Prior to his passing Greg was involved in the implementation of the Regional Coconut and Sweet Potato projects in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” it said. “Just last week he participated in a Regional Coconut Workshop in Grenada where he shared his experiences with managing coconut pests.”

CARDI said one of Linton’s most significant achievements was being part of a team that developed a locally-produced lime sulphur-based organic post-harvest treatment for dasheen.

“This treatment allowed farmers to successfully restart export to the lucrative European market.,” the organization stated. “At the time of his passing, he was working with local and international partners to fine-tune this treatment as well as test more environmentally friendly pesticides as post-harvest treatment options.”

The statement said Linton was CARDI’s face on teams that “conducted post-disaster risk assessment for the agricultural sector following natural disasters across CARICOM”.

“He was involved in assessments following the passage of Hurricane Maria (Dominica, 2017), Hurricane Dorian (the Bahamas, 2019), flooding (Guyana, 2021), and the eruption of La Soufrière volcano (St Vincent and the Grenadines, 2021),” it said. “His leadership on these missions was always efficient and highly commendable, facilitating quick decision making, to minimize loss of livelihoods and reduced suffering.”

CARDI also described Linton as an “outstanding researcher.”

“He will be remembered by his CARDI family as a dedicated, compassionate professional always willing to go the extra mile – many times at short notice.,” the organization pointed out.

“His sound technical insights will be missed.”

Before joining CARDI, Linton worked as a Plant Quarantine Inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture in Dominica and completed a pre-professional internship in Mexico in a campaign against Huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus.

He had a Master of Science degree in Plant Protection and was also qualified as an Agricultural Engineer specializing in Agricultural Parasitology (Plant Parasites) from the Chapingo Autonomous University, Texcoco, Estado de México, Mexico.

“The management and staff extend deepest sympathies to Greg’s family, friends, and colleagues in the St Vincent office,” CARDI said. “May his legacy continue to inspire others to pursue excellence in agricultural research and development. Rest in eternal peace!” (Dominica News Online)