It is unfathomable, the depth of despair we at CARDI feel, on the shocking passing of our dear colleague Gregory Linton (fondly known as Greg).
Since 2017, Greg a Dominican national served as the CARDI Representative in St Vincent and the Grenadines. 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, Mexico.
Before being promoted as the CARDI Representative, Greg was employed as a Research Assistant at the Institute’s Dominica office, working primarily under the Black Sigatoka project, evaluating banana and plantain accessions for tolerance to black sigatoka disease
(BSD).
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Greg was involved in the implementation of the Regional Coconut and Sweet Potato projects. Days before he passed Greg participated in a Regional Coconut Workshop in Grenada where he shared his experiences with managing coconut pests. Perhaps one of Greg’s most significant achievement was being part of a team which
developed a locally-produced lime sulphur organic post-harvest treatment for dasheen. This treatment allowed farmers to successfully restart dasheen 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.
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, humble professional always willing to go the extra mile – many times at short notice. His insightful interactions, cool temperament and hearty laughter will be missed.
Before his time at CARDI, he served as a Plant Quarantine Inspector at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dominica. Greg led the Ministry’s Biological Control program for economic pests and through his leadership the citrus weevil, citrus aphid, black fly, fruit fly and the pink mealy bug were successfully controlled.
The management and staff extend deepest sympathies to Greg’s family and friends May his legacy continue to inspire others to pursue excellence in agricultural research and development.
Rest in eternal peace!
