THIRTY-TWO STUDENTS in Jamaica have so far benefited from scholarships through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority's (RADA) National Youth in Agriculture (NYA) programme to pursue tertiary level education in agriculture.
The National Youth in Agriculture programme of activities include facilitating and coordinating competitive events which culminate at the annual Denbigh Agricultural Show, staging motivational talks, promoting skills training and development and implementing school gardens through a revolving loan fund. The programme also seeks to encourage young people to choose agriculture as a career.
PROGRAMME FUNDED BY
The programme is funded by donations from members of parliament and several corporate and state entities. These individuals and entities have helped to motivate the students by providing incentives upon successful completion of the programme.
In the last five years more than 76,000 kilogrammes of meat, vegetables and 10,500 dozens of eggs have been produced by schools participating in the NYA programme. The produce from these gardens is used in the schools' canteens under the Ministry of Education's School Feeding Programme.
