Hope for agriculture

The establishment of the HOPE Agriculture Training Institute will be pivotal to the development of Barbados’ agricultural sector.

 

So says Dr Patrick Rowe, Director of the Higher Education Development Unit, of the project planned for Hope Plantation, St Lucy.

 

Government has approved 45 acres at the HOPE and it is expected that institutions will share the facility for the execution of their Associate  degree, diploma and certificate agriculture programmes. 

 

“The establishment of the HOPE Agricultural Training Institute is to facilitate training that is going to be going on at the Barbados Community College (BCC), Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP), Barbados Vocational Training Board and especially secondary schools in the north of the island,” he revealed.

 

“Currently, a number of agricultural programmes don’t have a space… It is difficult to teach a good agricultural programme without having a physical space to practice the methods in agriculture. Therefore, the Institute will train students in crop production, animal husbandry and farm management. It will allow the institutions to add some values to their programmes.”

 

Dr Rowe’s comments came during the signing of a Memorandum of Corporation (MOC) between the Ministry of Education and the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), in the presence of officials from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados. The Government of China will be the sponsor of this very important project.

 

“The MOC signed is one we feel is very significant. It says we will work together to ensure that the development and the operations of the Institute will be fully cooperated between the Ministry of Education and the Barbados Agricultural Society.”

 

Minister of Education (Ag.), Harcourt Husbands thanked the representatives from the Embassy for the assistance being rendered by the Government of China.

 

“I am pleased that the Government of the People’s Republic of China see it fit to work with us on this project. Also, I am especially pleased that the organisation representing agriculture and agriculturist in Barbados, BAS, is also on board with the Ministry of Education.”

 

“We hope to in a joint way bring this project to a successful beginning and I think that this cooperation between the Ministry of Education and BAS, strengthens the work that we intend to do in educating the youth of Barbados,” he expressed. (TL)