Page 9 - Agric Info Newsletter 02 2017

RAINY SEASON RAINFALL TRENDS The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Transforma-
‐ 1979‐2015 tion, Forestry and Fisheries has sought to address
climate change on various platforms, one such
800
being soil and water conservation. The Soil and
600
Water Conservation Unit and the Forestry Depart-
400
ment within the Ministry continue their collabora-
200 tive effort in educating and training persons with
0 different methods of preventing soil erosion. One
1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 of these methods is the construction of grass bar-
riers.
JUN JULY AUG SEPT
Line chart showing Rainy Season Trends from 1979-
OCT NOV DEC
2015 in St Vincent and the Grenadines .

The construction of grass barriers is a low mainte- In 2014, a Soil and Water Conservation Work-
nance, cost effective form of soil and water conserva- shop was convened in Mexico. St. Vincent and
tion measure. It is not only to prevent soil erosion but the Grenadines was represented by Mr.
Gertheryn Bascombe, Agriculture Assistant, Soil
also groundwater depletion, gullies, nutrients loss, and Water Conservation Unit and Mr. Barry Wil-
road-side and river bank erosion, and river pollution. liams, Range Officer, from the Forestry Depart-
The Vetiver grass is the primary product used in St. ment.
Vincent and the Grenadines as a method of soil and
water conservation. As part of their workshop, they decided to imple-
ment a project in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Over the years St. Vincent and the Grenadines was upon their return and thus embarked on the
known throughout the region for the use and applica- Vetiver grass project in January 2015, at Wind
tion of grass barriers to prevent land degradation Blow/Fancy on the North-eastern side of the is-
across the country. The Forestry Department has used land.
grass barriers to prevent land degradation since the
early nineties in various areas across the country. According to Mr. Bascombe “in Mexico, they
used a number of systems in planting the Vetiver

Dry Season Rainfall Trends -1979- grass like used tires, geotextile bags and gabion
baskets in their gulley control”.
2015

400 He noted that the only system that is different
300 than what we have here in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines is geotextile bags, and once budget is
200
available the practice will be adopted here.
100
0 The Vetiver grass is a bunch grass which origi-
1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 nates from South India and belongs to Vetiveria

zizanioides family. It is known locally as donkey
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY
grass or razor grass. The plant can be grown over
a very wide range of climatic and soil conditions
Line chart showing dry Season Rainfall trends from 1979-
2015 in St Vincent and the Grenadines