Following the establishment of the College of Agriculture (CAF) in 1962, the need for a soil research and teaching laboratory to provide scientific information that would enhance agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability was raised. To supplement this issue, a Nominal Soil Lab was established for CAF in Roberts Hall in 1966, which gave birth to the Soil Testing Plant and Water Analysis Laboratory. 

In 1971, CAF was relocated from Roberts’ Hall to its present site (Riverview Campus, Fendall), and through the instrumentality of Dr. U. P. Sue of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Nominal Soil Lab was re-established at the new site in 1973 with funding from FAO. By 1984, the idea to rebrand the facility to a ‘state of the art’ soil testing laboratory was conceived and a proposal was submitted for the establishment of the SOIL TESTING, PLANT, AND WATER ANALYSES LABORATORY (SPWA) to the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry. In 1986, the University of Liberia and the International Foundation for Sciences (IFS) in Sweden renovated and equipped the SPWAL at Fendall Campus. However, the lab suffered several setbacks including the civil conflict (1989-2003), but appreciation to the Chinese Government who first renovated the building hosting the laboratory immediately after the war. 

In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) refurbished the old structure of the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) at the College of Agriculture and Forestry to host the soil lab. Additional classrooms were also renovated through the Project Management Unit (PMU) of MoA. The renovation was completed in 2018 with the lab equipped to a modern, standardized laboratory status. In 2021, FAO also supplied and furnished the Lab with additional equipment and reagents through the implementation of the Technical Corporation Program (TCP 3804).