Belize To Open First Soil Testing Lab to Boost Climate-Resilient Farming

The Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute (SIRDI) has received around three hundred thousand dollars’ worth of equipment to establish Belize’s first soil testing laboratory. The equipment was obtained through Phase 1 of the Multi-Country Soil Management Initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and Climate-Resilient Food Systems (SOILCARE) Project. The equipment will allow SIRDI to test various aspects of soil such as texture, PH, and electrical conductivity. This data will be used to guide farmers in making decisions that will help to improve soil quality and crop yields. Elbert Cowo, research officer at SIRDI, explained that the equipment will further the SOILCARE project’s objective of addressing land degradation in the Caribbean.

The laboratory equipment was handed over on May 7 through collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Natural Resources