Agricultural experts are testing a locally-produced liquid fertiliser from sargassum seaweed, potentially offering a solution to a persistent problem that chokes bays and smothers beaches while providing farmers with a cost-effective alternative to expensive commercial fertilisers.
The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is spearheading the project in partnership with regional and international organisations. For several weeks, the experimental fertiliser has been used on one-acre plots of cucumbers and sweet peppers at a Christ Church farm, with researchers comparing its performance to existing sargassum-based products.
Acting Chief Agriculture Officer Michael James highlighted the significance of the trials during a field day exercise on Thursday. If the trials are successful, the mass production of this new product would not only help address the seaweed problem but help farmers cut input costs, he said.
James explained the impact of sargassum on the island: “The Caribbean has always seen seaweed . . . but in 2011 that is when it hit. We saw this influx of seaweed blooms . . . .The seaweed keeps coming and coming and coming. It has almost become like a resource. It has an impact on our fisheries with less fish being caught . . . . We have had issues with it causing people [discomfort because] when it starts to degrade, it smells. It has an impact on tourism because obviously when people come here they come to see beautiful sand but we are not seeing that.”
The Ministry of Agriculture official also noted the potential economic benefits for farmers.
“Fertiliser costs in some instances have tripled,” he said. “Before you could have bought a bag of fertiliser for $50/$60 but now you’re talking about $200 in some instances, depending on the type of fertiliser. So it’s always good when we can have alternatives and if the alternatives are things that we can do or produce locally, even better.”
The project utilises fresh sargassum seaweed collected from Consett Bay in St John. After removing heavy metals and other harmful substances from the seaweed, 15 litres of extract were produced and applied to two one-acre plots.
Chadeene Beckles, the CARDI representative to Barbados, expressed satisfaction with the project’s progress.
“We’re looking at the number of food generated by the plant, the length of time of development, the amount of dry matter because of course, we want to make sure that the final product is not only healthy but delicious,” she said.
Beckles also addressed safety concerns: “The level of arsenic in the food, I think has been a really big win for us so far in that the level of arsenic that is commonly tested in food was very much below the acceptable levels for human assumption, which is a great thing because I know there has been a lot of concern all across the region about that.”
The project is a collaborative effort involving two CARICOM agencies — CARDI and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) — the New Zealand state-owned Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, the University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The experts visited the field exercise at a farm in Chancery Lane, Christ Church, to observe the crops’ growth. Once the trials are completed, a decision will be made regarding the fertiliser’s potential mass production.
sheriabrathwaithe@barbadostoday.bb
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