FAO strengthens agricultural protections to support Grenada's USD 2.6 millionsoursop-valued economy

Reinforcing national capacities to support safe trade and long-term growth of

Grenada’s soursop production

– Grenada holds a unique distinction as the only country in the world currently authorized to export fresh non-irradiated soursop to the United States of America, which highlights the need to continually enhance efforts to strengthen the sanitary and phytosanitary systems in the soursop value chain.

This invaluable soursop industry serves as a critical lifeline for rural livelihoods and plays a significant role in the country’s export success. Its rare market access positions soursop as a high-value strategic crop, generating an estimated USD 2.6 million annually and supporting approximately 2,600 farmers, most of whom are smallholders whose livelihoods depend on its continued growth.

To support and protect this vital industry, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands & Forestry in Grenada, and the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), recently implemented the “Enhancing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity and market access for Grenadian soursop exports projects.” As part of this initiative, a three-day capacity-building workshop on Risks and Anticipatory Frameworks for the Soursop Industry was held in Grenada from February 9 to 11, 2026, at the National Stadium, facilitated through partnership with FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture and the

Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA).

The comprehensive workshop brought together 31 participants, including 18 females and 13 males mainly drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture and its technical units including extension, pest management, and forestry services as well as the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). This diverse group of technical officers, programme staff, and institutional partners enabled meaningful cross-sector discussions on surveillance, early warning systems, and coordinated response planning to strengthen the protection of the island’s soursop industry. The training forms part of a broader set of interventions under the project aimed at strengthening SPS systems along the entire value chain, focusing on strengthening participants’ ability to anticipate and manage plant health risks through improved surveillance, early warning systems, particularly early pest detection and/or early

signs of infestation, sample reporting, scenario planning and coordinated response

mechanisms.

These include the development of a holistic surveillance programme and emergency response system, strengthening institutional capacities for pest detection and certification, piloting traceability systems for export markets, and building the capacities of farmers and extension services in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

During the workshop, FAO also highlighted some complementary activities being executed under the project, including the establishment of two farmer-owned demonstration plots, one in Saint Andrew and the other located in Saint Patrick which will support farmer training, the promotion of Good Agricultural Practices and Integrated Pest Management for enhanced on- farm productivity and sustainability in Grenada’s soursop sector.

Ms Anne Desrochers, FAO Production and Plant Protection Specialist emphasized that by strengthening technical capacity and coordination among stakeholders results in building a more resilient and sustainable soursop industry in Grenada. She stated, “Grenada’s exclusive access to the United States market for fresh soursop presents a significant and timely opportunity to strengthen the livelihoods of farmers and uplift rural communities”.

Ms Desrochers stated that overall, the participants described the training as highly valuable, noting that the mix of theoretical sessions and practical exercises provided a platform for knowledge sharing and collaborative learning.

The training concluded with the identification of key actions including common implementation barriers and collaboration mechanisms to strengthen preparedness and anticipatory responses within the soursop value chain.