Lack of Testing Capacity Hinders Sargassum Entrepreneurship in T&T

January 10, 2025 – Recent competitions held by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) demonstrated various ways Sargassum seaweed can be used to produce valuable by-products in the Caribbean. However, Senior Director of the Environment, Climate Change, and Energy Unit in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Linford Beckles, has pointed out a significant challenge: Trinidad and Tobago lacks the testing capacity to ensure the metal content in the seaweed does not pose a problem for products or fertilizer.

This lack of local testing capacity is a major hurdle for entrepreneurs and farmers, especially given that Sargassum is known to absorb high levels of toxic inorganic arsenic and other heavy metals. Without a reliable way to test and verify the safety of the raw material, local ventures face significant barriers to developing safe and marketable products for both domestic and international markets.