Barbados Today ( Barbados )
28 March 2023 ( Page 4 )
Weed bank
Marijuana research venture for Dukes
By Marlon Madden
Barbados is set to have a marijuana gene bank at the new Dukes Agricultural Research Park which is owned by the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus.
The facility will allow for major research and development of new strains of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
This announcement was made on Tuesday, by Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the UWI, Cave Hill Campus Professor Clive Landis, during the official groundbreaking ceremony for the research park in St Thomas.
He said the new entrepreneurial venture by the university in the area of medicinal cannabis would be led by prominent Cave Hill Campus lecturer and pharmacologist Dr Damian Cohall, and will be conducted in association with the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Dr Damian Cohall in the Faculty of Medical Sciences is globally recognised as an expert in medicinal cannabis, who is leading an initiative in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture to establish a cannabis germ-plasm repository at Dukes,” Landis announced, as he acknowledged Barbados’ “inherent” competitive advantage because of its “conducive legal framework”.
“The Cave Hill Campus has already been granted a provisional cannabis research licence, which allows it to undertake the necessary research at germline level to optimise gene expression for generation of new cannabis varietals for medicinal purposes,” he said.
Landis said: “The UWI, Cave Hill Campus and the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Nutritional Security will collaborate seamlessly on the phases of medicinal cannabis production, from germline research, elucidation of new varietals, extension agriculture, purification of medical cannabis products, quality control and certification to bring to market.”
Officials are not giving a timeline for the completion of the approximately $34 million dollar, 28-acre Dukes Agricultural Research Park.
However, over the past few months, six of seven buildings earmarked for private sector use, were erected on the site, which is to be home to a variety of agriculture-based research facilities, a conference centre as well as agricultural ventures.
The construction of the facility, which is funded through a bilateral grant arrangement between China and Barbados, is being carried out by Shanghai Construction Engineering Company Limited.
Landis said that through a tripartite relationship between the Government, the private sector and the university, the Dukes Agricultural Research Park facility will be designed to foster agricultural entrepreneurship and innovation and agri-preneurial ventures and start-ups.
“I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Agriculture has formed a steering committee with the UWI, co-chaired by the Chief Agricultural Officer and the Cave HIll Deputy Principal to coordinate agricultural research and innovation in support of a diversified and innovative agricultural sector in Barbados.”
The research park will be on approximately 14 acres of agricultural land.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
Prime Minister Mia Mottley shakes hands with Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, The UWI, Cave Hill
Campus Professor Clive Landis, as His Excellency Yan Xiusheng, Ambassador of the People's Republic of
China and St Thomas MP Cynthia Forde look on.