The Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Project in the Ministry of Agriculture as part of its mandate to build capacities for SLM completed a baseline survey to assess the public’s knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) related to land degradation and SLM in January 2011.
The study implemented with technical support from the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St. George’s University, Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance, and Extension Division, Ministry of Agriculture was designed to assess community’s, resource users’, policy makers, and senior government officers’ KAP of land degradation and SLM. Administered to 916 respondents, the survey established baseline data for evaluation of the effectiveness of the public awareness and education campaign implemented by the SLM Project.
The results of the study was presented to a wide ranging stakeholder group at the Ministry of Works conference room on March 16th 2011 by Dr. Muge Akpinar-Elci of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St. George’s University, School of Medicine.
The study revealed a general low level of knowledge among the population regarding land degradation and SLM. The majority of Grenadians reported that they had no knowledge of land degradation (64%) and SLM (52%). Females, persons younger than 25 years, and lower income level participants had significantly less knowledge on land degradation and SLM than overall participants. Householders demonstrated the lowest knowledge levels among all target groups. Contractors and policy makers reported more knowledge on land degradation and SLM compared to other groups.
Project Manager of the SLM Project, Dianne Roberts, indicated that implementation of the baseline survey represented a significant milestone in building national capacities for wise use of land in Grenada. According to Roberts, “we are now more aware of the specific attitudes, practices and levels of knowledge among our populace regarding land degradation and SLM. This information positions the Ministry of Agriculture to implement a strategic public awareness campaign that is relevant and specific to the needs of each target group.
The Ministry of Agriculture through the SLM Project is getting ready to implement a comprehensive public awareness and education campaign on land degradation and SLM.
A detail copy of the study’s findings is available on the SLM Project website – www.slmgrenada.org.
