Essex Valley Soil Mapping Project poised to drive country’s agricultural growth, food security

WESTERN BUREAU:

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says the Soil Fertility Mapping Project, which is currently taking place in Essex Valley, St Elizabeth, will serve as a catalyst in the implementation of crucial measures to develop a comprehensive soil fertility database, which will enhance both crop yield and food security.

“We want to do this for the entire island to ensure that we have a mapping system that covers the entire island so that our farmers can do their fertility monitoring, and they can do their management when they are out to farm,” said Green.

Green made that announcement on Thursday, during a seminar on Climate Smart Agriculture Compliant (C-SAC) at St Elizabeth Technical High School, in St Elizabeth, in a joint event by the land division of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development to mark World Soil Day.

Every year, on December 5, World Soil Day (WSD) is celebrated to raise awareness of the value of healthy soil, as well as to promote the sustainable management of soil resources. This year’s theme is ‘Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, and Manage’.

World Soil Day underscores the importance of accurate soil data and information in understanding soil characteristics and supporting informed decision-making on sustainable soil management for food security.

“We have taken these samples, and we are designing a database so that when you go to a farm, you can see that this is soil; this is the nutrition regime that you need,” said Green, in explaining the work currently being undertaken at the Essex Valley Soil Fertility Mapping Project.

“We’ve already done our pilots, using various nutrition regimes, and I must say the results have been very, very good, so I am guaranteed that when we roll out Essex Valley, we will have great results, especially in terms of productivity,” added Green.

According to Green, the Essex Valley Project is a significant initiative that aims to enhance soil health and agricultural productivity. It is being facilitated through comprehensive soil testing and data collection, the Moroccan National Institute for Agricultural Research and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are involved in the project, which will provide farmers with accurate soil fertility information that will increase crop yields and ensure food security.

Green said he intends to equip all RADA officers, who visit farmers in the field, with a soil testing kit so that they can conduct preliminary tests on the soil.

“We have started procuring these (soil testing kits), and I anticipate we will begin distributing them in the first quarter of next year,” said Green, who said that, initially, 100 kits will be distributed in highly productive areas.

Albert Ferguson