Newly Appointed EU Ambassador Visits Food Science Laboratory at SVGCC 

By S.Browne. Updated 4:19 p.m., Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Ambassador of the European Union to Barbados and Ambassador Designate to the Eastern Caribbean States, Her Excellency Fiona Ramsey, on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, conducted a walkthrough of the newly established Food Science Laboratory at the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College’s Technical and Vocational Division in Arnos Vale.

The facility, constructed at a value of €925,496.29 (EC$2.875M), was executed by O. B. Sadoo Limited of Saint Lucia and supervised by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ National Authorising Officer (NAO) Support Unit. The project is a collaborative effort between the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, through the Agricultural Development and Modernization Programme (BAM-ADMP), and the European Union (EU) under the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) initiative.

The state-of-the-art Food Science Laboratory forms part of the Government’s continued investment in modernising the agricultural sector and encouraging youth participation through education and entrepreneurship. It serves as a core facility for delivering the Associate’s Degree in Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC), and is designed to strengthen the technical and scientific training available to students pursuing careers in agribusiness.

In her remarks, Ambassador Ramsey said: “The EU is proud to contribute in the first place to the development of skills each single student needs to succeed in their professional lives, in addition to creating new opportunities in the food sector, in the country and abroad.

“By investing in skills development and creativity, the European Union is helping the next generation turn potential into opportunity—driving growth and innovation in the food sector in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and beyond. This comes timely as there is growing interest to trade in food between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the European Union.”

The laboratory initiative is also being supported by the University of Guelph (Canada), which is providing teacher training and laboratory equipment to ensure the facility’s smooth operationalisation.

The investment not only enhances teaching and research capacity but is expected to positively impact access to agricultural markets, promote small-scale agribusiness development, and generate employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

Construction works commenced in August, 2022 and was completed in August, 2023. Oversight was provided by the NAO Support Unit.

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This information was sourced from a press release sent to us by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, and Information Technology.