“This
is a project that we welcome, because we are starting with our children who
will become the men and women of our society”
Newport Fersan Managing
Director Dennis Valdez commenting on the joint project with the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries to establish 186 School Gardens
The
agricultural program at several High Schools across Jamaica has finally gotten
a boost.
This
as Newport Fersan Jamaica Limited plans to establish 186 gardens in public
schools in Jamaica as reported in “Boost
for agri education”, published Saturday”, June 18, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.
The
good news came on Tuesday June 14th 2016 while the Minister of State
in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries JC Hutchinson
was touring Newport Fersan Jamaica Limited Wherry Wharf complex at Newport
East.
The
Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is to undertake the initiative.
The idea is that Schools will be able to grow most of the food they need with
the help of student, instead of having to purchase food, making the schools
self-sufficient.
Best
of all, it'll help to wean teenager off eating Fast food and Bag juice as
pointed out in my blog article
entitled “Why
Ministry of Education must support School Gardens as Sugar in Bag Juice linked
to Lifestyle Diseases”.
Once
they get to realize the fact that they can grow their own food, this encourage
them to have a much brighter outlook on their future as Agriculture can be
a path to financially independent in the
future.
Getting Jamaican
Children interested in Agriculture - Modern Agriculture will involve
Agricultural Towers and Robots
A
part of the Government’s National School Garden Programme, the aim is to really
get more children in both the rural and urban schools involved in Agriculture.
This
is by letting them be responsible for the production food that their school
consumes. After all, nothing beats boasting to your friend at lunch time that
the pumpkin, cabbage and Rabbit stew they're enjoying was grown by your hand.
It
will also help to attract more urban students to enter Agricultural Sciences as
there is a need for more farmers and Agricultural Scientists. By demonstrating
that they can feed their school, it will hopefully spark the interest or these
urban area students to see Agriculture as a viable career option that’s just as
profitable as being a lawyer or doctor.
It's
also hoped that the School gardens will help children develope a sense of
reasonability as well as sharpen their teamwork skills as pointed out by the
State Minister in Agriculture, JC Hutchinson, quote: “We want to teach the students
the best practices in agriculture, and also allow extension officers to use the
gardens as demonstration plots”.
Jamaican School Gardens
- Preparing Students for Automated Agricultural Towers in the Future
School
Gardens already exist in many rural schools.
One
such is Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St. Ann where they already have
an advanced Rabbit rearing program as described in my blog article
entitled “Marcus
Garvey Technical High School Rabbit Rearing Program teaching Teenagers about Modern
Farming Techniques”.
Agriculture
will most likely appeal mostly to the kinesthetic learners, both in rural and
urban school, who will definitely gravitate towards this concept of school
gardens. Especially when combined with Tablets as explained in my blog article
entitled “Why
Tablet in School Rollout in September 2016 means Contractors and Kinesthetic
Content coming”.
This
as the students can use their tablets to connect with remote sensing technology
to not only monitor their crops but also the weather.
An
example is Ja REEACH II (Jamaica Rural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to
Climate Change) network of portable Weather stations as explained in my blog article
entitled “How
Ja REEACH 36 Portable Weather Stations helps MSJ, RADA and NIC prevent Drought
by 2020” allowing them to know when it’ll rain or when they need to store
water for irrigation.
Remote
Sensing will make Agriculture appeal to the tech-centric students and potential
Agricultural Scientists, as most likely Robotics and Agricultural Towers will
become a feature of Farming in the future as predicted in my blog article
entitled “How
Australia's University of Sydney Livestock Farmbot heralds Efficient Agricultural
Towers”.
So
our children need to be prepared for a Future where farming will be automated!
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