CARDI mourns death of representative in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The Caribbean Agricultural and Research Development Agency (CARDI) is mourning the death of Mr. Gregory Linton, its representative in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Linton’s body was discovered in a vehicle that was parked in front of a school in Richmond Hill on Monday. Police have launched a homicide investigation. 

Please read CARDI’s statement below:

It is with unbelievable shock and deep sadness we announce the passing of our dear colleague 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧.

Greg, a Dominican national, served as the CARDI Representative in St Vincent and the Grenadines, since 2017. He was a qualified Agricultural Engineer specializing in Agricultural Parasitology and a Plant Health Specialist by training.

Before being promoted to the role of CARDI Representative, Greg was employed as a Research Assistant at CARDI Dominica, working primarily under the Black Sigatoka project, evaluating banana and plantain accessions tolerant to black sigatoka disease (BSD), as part of an Integrated Management Framework for black Sigatoka disease.

Prior to his passing Greg was involved in the implementation of the Regional Coconut and Sweet Potato projects in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Just last week, he participated in a Regional Coconut Workshop in Grenada where he shared his experiences with managing coconut pests. Perhaps one of Greg’s most significant achievements was being part of a team which developed a locally-produced lime sulphur-base organic post-harvest treatment for dasheen. This treatment allowed farmers to successfully restart export to the lucrative European market. At the time of his passing, he was working with local and international partners to fine-tune this treatment as well as test more environmentally friendly pesticides as post-harvest treatment options.

Greg was the face of CARDI on multi-agency teams that conducted post-disaster risk assessment for the agricultural sector following natural disasters across CARICOM. He was involved in assessments following the passage of Hurricane Maria (Dominica, 2017), Hurricane Dorian (the Bahamas, 2019), flooding (Guyana, 2021) and the eruption of La Soufrière volcano (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 2021). His leadership on these missions was always efficient and highly commendable, facilitating quick decision-making, to minimize loss of livelihoods and reduced suffering.

Greg was an outstanding researcher. He will be remembered by his CARDI family as a dedicated, compassionate professional always willing to go the extra mile – many times at short notice. His sound technical insights will be missed.

Before his time at CARDI, he served as a Plant Quarantine Inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dominica, and completed a pre-professional internship in Mexico in a campaign against Huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus.

He graduated with a Master of Science in Plant Protection and was also qualified as an Agricultural Engineer specializing in Agricultural Parasitology (Plant Parasites) from the Chapingo Autonomous University, Texcoco, Estado de México, Mexico.

The management and staff extend deepest sympathies to Greg’s family, friends and colleagues in the St. Vincent office. May his legacy continue to inspire others to pursue excellence in agricultural research and development.

Rest in eternal peace!

Source: CARICOM TODAY