“What we try to do is to donate rabbits to other schools that are
interested in having a small livestock unit because a lot of times, these
schools don't have the land space to accommodate larger animals. So what we're
saying is if schools out there are interested in a livestock unit, they can
contact Marcus Garvey Technical High School and we would be glad to give them a
pair of rabbits”
Head of the Agriculture Department
at the Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann's Bay, Richard Grant,
speaking to Rural Xpress during the Second Annual St Ann Agricultural,
Industrial, and Food Show in St Ann's Bay on Saturday April 5th,
2014
The Second Annual St Ann Agricultural, Industrial, and Food Show in St
Ann's Bay was a sort of coming out party for the Marcus Garvey Technical High
School. On that day, the Rabbit Rearing program from that High School’s
Agricultural Department was on display, with an offer to help other schools
start a Rabbit Rearing program as stated in “Marcus
Garvey Technical offers rabbits to other schools”, published Saturday April
5, 2014 by Carl Gilchrist, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
The Second Annual St Ann Agricultural, Industrial, and Food Show featured
the Agricultural produce from the area saw Marcus Garvey Technical High
School’s Agricultural Department stellar 12 man team taking center stage,
Ranging from Grades 9 to 11, their display was an example of sustainable Agricultural
practices with the immediate benefit of reducing the School's Cost to feed it
hungry cohort of students.
Now doing very well, they plan to expand their Rabbit Rearing Technology
to other schools by assisting them with bunnies. If you remember from my blog article
entitled “Caribbean
Producers Jamaica Limited to go into large-scale Rabbit Farming - Rabbit Farming
is Viable as you just Ignore their Cuteness and slaughter the Bunnies”, Rabbit
Meat demand is on the Rise. Albeit the current cost of the meat it high, it has
good flavour and merely needs more Farmers rearing Rabbits to bring the costs
down.
Hopefully other High Schools will take up Marcus Garvey Technical High
School offer of assistance with their Farming program and thus introduce Farming
to even the Corporate Area Schools. This would make them realize that Farming
and Agriculture is just as viable a career as being a Lawyer or Doctor as
pointed out in my Geezam blog article
entitled “Jamaica
facing an acute Shortage of Qualified Technicians and Engineers for upcoming
Projects”, as aside from Engineers and Technicians, we are also facing a
shortage of Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) and Millennials (ages 18 to 28) taking an
interest in Agriculture and Farming
Marcus Garvey Technical High School’s hands-on approach to Agriculture is
clearly paying off, as the students can see the benefits of eating what they
grow on display, to quote Head of the Agriculture Department at the Marcus
Garvey Technical High School in St Ann's Bay, Richard Grant: “We're trying to
change the mindset of the general society towards Marcus Garvey Technical High
School, so yes, we found it important enough to showcase our school to the
wider public here today.”
Their Agricultural program allows the students to grow the following
crops which allows the school to feed itself independent of external food
suppliers:
1.
Hyponically grown vegetables
2.
Chicken and Egg production
3.
Pig rearing
4.
Apiculture and Honey-Production
The Hydroponics part of their Farming
caught my eye as well, as this is clearly an unexploited means of growing Crops
that many in Jamaica are still not aware as explained in my blog article
entitled “How
to Cut Glass Bottles and make your own Rooftop Garden made up of Wick-Based
Hydroponic Gardening System - More uses for the Distilled Water from the
Fresnel based Solar Desalinator”.
Hydroponics not only is more efficient, but it can turn any space, even a
rooftop with a few Glass bottles, into a Garden of Eden producing fast-growing
crops of vegetables grow in soil-less medium.
Exposing student to other means of agriculture other than the traditional
methods will go a long way to empowering Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) and
Millennials (ages 18 to 28). It will make them realize that being involved in
Agriculture is a long-term self-sustaining career path that’s a viable income
both through local sale of produce and via processing and packaging for sale of
VAS (Value Added Products) abroad.
Modernizing Farming with techniques that incorporate aspects of
Alternative Energy to reduce energy usage, Data collection, performance
tracking of the Plant's progress and the usage of Computers and Analysis
software e.g. Microsoft Excel to monitor crops.
This will appeal greatly to the mostly tech-centric younger Farmers of
the future as pointed out in my Geezam blog
article entitled “Solar
Powered Organic Farming – Sustainable Agricultural Development and Jamaica’s
Food Security” and will thus enhance the spread of Farming to other High
Schools who may be interested in duplicating the School’s Success in Rabbit
Rearing.
These Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) and Millennials (ages 18 to 28) whose
Demographic the High Schools are trying to empower wish, unlike their current
counterparts, to make a serious living from Farming instead of subsisting on
crops being grown just for sale at the market. By showing the students the scientific
means of tracking the growth progress of their crops and rearing of livestock,
it helps to remove the stigma associated with the Farmer not being an
intelligent person.
To again quote the Head of the Agriculture Department at the Marcus
Garvey Technical High School in St Ann's Bay, Richard Grant: “We're exposing
students to non-conventional Farming systems because we want students to know
there are other ways and methods of cultivating crops”.
Rather, this method of exposing Students to Modern Farming Practices in a
hands-on manner instead associates Farming with a thinking man that tracks
metrics relating to the performance of his farm via the modern technological
tools and Farming Techniques and methodologies currently and easily available
learned from the Internet.
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