School teach smart farming methods to students
Labasa Muslim Primary School has started a new initiative that could teach life-long farming skills to students.
The teachers and the school management had set-up a vegetable and green space nursery at the school compound to teach smart farming techniques to students.
School Nursery Project co-ordinator Zahid Ali said they engaged in the initiative to enable them to plant and secure farm produce in a protected space.
Mr Ali said during Tropical Cyclone Yasa and TC Ana in December 2020 and January 2021, the Namara area where the school was situated was severely affected and a lot of fresh food sources and vegetables were damaged.
“This way, when the next flood happens, the school will have vegetables and some produce available for the community to buy and sustain their families,” Mr Ali said.
He attributed the encouragement made by their school head teacher to teachers and the school management to look at the potential of this initiative.
“We then pitched in our request for a grant from the FIJI Water Foundation to assist this initiative,” he said.
They received $5000. They had three-tier smart farming engagement sessions with students from Year One to Year Eight.
Students participate in primary, secondary and tertiary open farming techniques where the basic steps of pot seedling are taught at the basic level.
Mr Ali said the smart food planting initiative was a collective decision by the school committee and teachers.
“We want to engage in sustainable farming and agro-marketing without any organic input,” he said.
Income generation
Mr Ali said they had set up a marketing booth for its school income-generating project.
This booth would enable them to sell the fresh produce and money earned would help some needy students and some school projects.
“This farming initiative will also help students learn the financial side of life and how to engage in business ventures,” he said.