UWI Committee Moves To Turn Giant African Snail Threat Into Opportunity

A new multi-stakeholder committee is seeking to turn the Giant African Snail (GAS), a pest that has plagued Trinidad and Tobago for 18 years, into a national opportunity.

The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Sustainability (formerly the Faculty of Food and Agriculture) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), St. Augustine, has convened the GAS Strategic Action Committee (GAS-SAC). The committee will guide the rollout of SCALe-UP, which stands for Sustainable Circular Applications Leveraging the Potential for Underutilization of the Giant African Snail for Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Enterprise Development in Trinidad and Tobago. The project is funded by The UWI Research and Development Impact (RDI) Fund.

The snail has damaged crops, threatened public health and added pressure on farmers across the country.