SRC Act to Be Reviewed

A comprehensive review of the Scientific Research Council (SRC) Act will be undertaken to modernise and harmonise it with current governance, accountability, and scientific mandates.

“Jamaica cannot build a 21st-century innovation economy on a 1960 legislative framework,” Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Science, Technology and Special Projects, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, said while making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 2.

“The SRC Act was enacted in 1960, before Jamaica’s modern governance frameworks, before our ST&I Policy, before biotechnology, digital transformation, and climate resilience became operational realities for a national research institution,” he said.

He noted that the review will, among other things, ensure that the SRC has the legal foundation to fully execute its expanded role in ‘Jamaica National Science, Technology and Innovation Strategic Plan 2026 to 2035’, and its governing framework: the ‘House of Innovation’.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wheatley informed that for financial year 2026/27, the SRC will implement a Laboratory Information Management System to digitalise its operations; launch a digital solutions programme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); expand its accredited analytical scope, and launch the Conversation in Science Podcast, a new public engagement initiative to deepen science literacy and support evidence-based national dialogue.

Furthermore, he said the SRC continues to deliver results that speak directly to Jamaica’s most pressing developmental challenges.

He pointed out that in agriculture and food security, the SRC produced 30,000 tissue culture plants – yam, pineapple, and Irish potato – to strengthen domestic food production, propagated 2,000 mangosteen plants in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, and advanced mutation breeding research for disease-resistant coffee, improved ginger lines, and faster maturing sweet potato.

Additionally, he said in communities, 52 residents in Watermount, St. Catherine, were trained in pineapple farming and juice processing, and 37 hot pepper farmers received training in jerk seasoning production to reduce wastage and increase income.

He shared that the SRC’s Analytical Services Department, which is the backbone of Jamaica’s public health and trade infrastructure, completed more than 11,000 laboratory analyses between April and December 2025, protecting food safety, drinking-water quality, and export integrity.

“Major laboratory modernisation was completed this year, with three new high-precision instruments deployed: a Discrete Analyser for water-quality surveillance, an ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy) for heavy-metal and environmental monitoring, and an FTNIR (Fourier Transform Near-Infrared) spectrometer for food authenticity and adulteration detection,” he said.

He added that Jamaica’s laboratory results remain ISO/IEC 17025-compliant, internationally recognised and trusted by the country’s trading partners.

On innovation and enterprise, he disclosed that the SRC developed 24 new food products and two personal-care formulations, produced 115 nutrition facts panels aimed at strengthening consumer protection, and trained 87 entrepreneurs in science-based product development.

He informed that the Food Pilot Plant achieved a 12.5 per cent increase in production output and a 283 per cent increase in drying and milling volumes, directly supporting 68 MSMEs.

He said in science education, 584 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students from 100 schools received SRC workshops, 120 teachers were trained in science process skills, and science clubs are now active in more than 100 schools with a focus on rural communities.