Technical Sales Consultant at Newport-Fersan Jamaica Limited, Mr. Derrano Franton (right), presents a token to a farmer, Mrs. Latoya Rattaty-Ellis at the World Soil Day Technical Forum held at the Ebony Park HEART NSTA Academy in Clarendon on December 5, 2022.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is calling on local farmers to become soil doctors through its Global Soil Doctors Programme. This is among several efforts being made by the Ministry to achieve sustainable soil health and management, using science and technology.
The programme, which was launched at the World Soil Day Technical Forum held at Ebony Park HEART NSTA Academy in Clarendon on December 5, utilizes a farmer-to-farmer approach that aims to equip involved farmers with high-quality training and the requisite knowledge about soil science principles, while simultaneously providing them with tools including educational material, soil testing methods (STM) and a soil testing kit (STK) for preliminary soil analyses. This will build the capacity of those individuals, thus producing ‘champion famers’ who will become a resource for assisting and training other farmers within their farming community.
In addition, the programme is expected to promote the concept of soil testing prior to the issuing of recommendations on soil management. This is crucial as understanding the soil can result in better farming practices and ultimately sustainability in soil health and management.
Speaking at the forum on Monday, Acting Senior Director of the Agricultural Land Management Division in the Ministry, Pamella McKenzie, said there’s much to be gained from joining the programme.
“You can get assistance in improving your soil management practices and ultimately it leads to an increase in agricultural productivity,” she stated.
Meanwhile, those receiving assistance from the soil doctors will also benefit, as they will be able to rely on the assistance of a trusted member of their own community to aid in improving their farming system and productivity.
The Global Soil Doctors Programme, which was established in 2012 as a mechanism to develop a strong interactive partnership and enhanced collaboration and synergy of efforts between all stakeholders involved with soils, promises to be beneficial to all stakeholders within the agricultural sector.
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