All schools need a sustainable agriculture programme – White
PRINCIPAL OF Dinthill Technical High School in Linstead, St Catherine, Monica White, has said all schools across Jamaica should have in place a sustainable agriculture programme.
White noted that the agriculture programme at her school not only provides skills training for students but also supplies produce to local markets and a hotel.
“All we do is centred on agriculture. We have lettuce, tomatoes and sweet peppers that we grow in our greenhouse and sell. We are doing well with agriculture. It’s really our epicentre,” White said during a tour of the school’s farm.
The tour was part of activities of the seventh Regional Session of the Youth Environmental Advocacy Programme (YEAP), which was held at the school on February 20.
YEAP, launched in July 2016, aims to engage students in environmental advocacy as well as to help them identify innovative solutions to various challenges.
White noted that, shortly, the school will be looking at replanting sweet potatoes.
“We are looking forward to putting in some more [sweet potato seedlings] in the next season and we are, at this point, looking forward to starting our onion production. We’re working along with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, and by the end of March we should be getting those seeds, and we will have a great stock of onions this year,” White said.
In addition, the school has goats, pigs and chickens, which are reared by students and staff members. Plans are also in place for the expansion of their poultry facility.
“We’re looking for partners to expand our chicken project. We really need the tunnel houses. We do the regular coop. We produce 10,000 birds every six weeks for Jamaica Broilers, but we want to be able to expand that,”White stated.
“So if there is any good person out there who can help us, in terms of having those tunnel houses up and running, we would love to partner with them to have that done,” she added.
Meanwhile, director, Environment and Risk Management Branch in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Joanne Felix, said the YEAP aims “to create opportunities for us in the Government to interact with the youth and educate them about what’s going on in the environment and what are their issues of concern, as well as to get their feedback”.
Annually, YEAP selects one student from each region as ambassadors and awards a scholarship valued $50,000, which is funded by the GraceKennedy Foundation.
Student at the Dinthill Technical High School, Nicole Pryce, was appointed the 2017-18 YEAP Ambassador.
She said the bursary she received not only assisted with buying backto-school supplies, but also helped the Environment Club, of which she is now president.