DR. DOROTHY Byfield, Group Director of Research and Development at the Scientific Research Council (SRC) has said that science and technology should be utilised for wealth creation and for improving productivity.
"Using science and technology, we can create wealth, providing increased opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation. Businesses will become more productive and foreign exchange will be gained through exports," she emphasised.
Dr. Byfield was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Council's Smoked Meat Processing Training Workshop on November 6.
The two-day workshop was conducted by the SRC's Food Technology Institute (FTI), at its headquarters at Hope Gardens. It was organised to educate agro processors about proper techniques in preparing cured and smoked meat, which the public would both sell and consume.
In order to fulfil its mandate of assisting the development of cottage industries islandwide, the FTI periodically conducts training courses in food processing activities such as juice making, canning, extraction and preservation methods, including dehydration, solar drying, curing and smoking. These courses are helpful in teaching small businesspersons ways of starting new businesses and improving current business operations.
The FTI also offers a wide range of services to small-scale agro-processors. For example, if a small entrepreneur would like to develop a product but does not have the money to develop the product and test it in the market, the FTI would provide assistance.
"We offer assistance with product development and product improvement and process improvement; if someone has an idea we can develop that product for him at a cost and he can then go out and produce that product," Mr. Maurice Lewis, Acting Director of the FTI pointed out.
Mr. Lewis emphasised that the FTI's costs are very competitive for the small businessperson who might not have access to much money to carry out such an operation.
"Our costs are quire reasonable, we do have to cover our costs for electricity
