In continuation of our special focus on the agricultural sector we present excerpts
of the views of key agricultural stakeholders on the state of agricultural education in Jamaica.
Finding use for idle hands
Victor Cummings - state minister, Agriculture and Lands
"One thing I would like to add and where we have been talking about education is the issue of the National Youth Service. We need to see how we can link the National Youth Service more with what we are trying to do.
We have a lot of idle land sitting there, we have a Youth Service Programme; perhaps and I know discussion has started, we need to see how we can expand the Youth Service Programme to really bring an agricultural component into it.
But you can't just put people on land, because when I am talking about the people in youth service, I am thinking of young men and women who are sitting on the corner. Some of them, (there is) the problem of illiteracy.
We need to look at a re-socialisation programme because they might see putting them in a youth service and putting them on the farm as some form of punishment. We need to do some type of re-socialisation with them to show them that it is a honourable profession and somehow (ensure that) whatever is produce, they would be able to earn something.
A good curriculum at CASE
Senator Anthony Johnson, Opposition Spokesman, Agriculture.
"From what I know of CASE (College of Agriculture, Science and Education), I would think that it's curriculum is probably as good as one would expect to find in an institution of that kind in a country at our stage of development.
The problem is not the curriculum or the out-turn, the problem is that when a person graduates from CASE at the moment - if they want to enjoy a normal lifestyle - they can't go into agriculture, not because they don't know what to do or because they don't want to go into agriculture, but because the other elements which are required for agricultural production are either absent or at a level where it wouldn't make any difference whether they are absent or not.
You need to have an infrastructure in the country that permits agriculture. Agriculture is not something that you can do in a vacuum."
Geographic location a hindrance
Thomas Burton, deputy executive director, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA)
"The School of Agriculture was able to benefit from experiences and practical know-how from practitioners in the extension field by getting persons employed to the Ministry of Agriculture to lecture to the students.
But because of the geographic positioning of CASE, this is not possible on a day to day basis to pull people from Kingston to go out to Portland to pass on this hands-on practical agricultural extension training to the persons who are going to come out and convince the traditional farmers to change their practices.
We want to look on agricultural training to convince the farmers who are currently engaged and have traditional experience, to practice what we could call new scientific findings. To get this across, you need someone who can pass this on to them and I think in this regard, we could look now at strengthening the teaching component of agriculture to the graduates coming out of the College of Agriculture."
Agriculture: more than just getting dirty
Karelle McCormack, public relations officer, Jamaica 4H Club.
"I am also one of those who thinks that we need to start this whole process of agricultural education from very early, but before we even do that, what we also have to try and pay attention to is the mindset.
It is all good and well that you go through a school system and you may do practical or you learn things by rope, but if you still come out with a mindset that agriculture is all about getting dirty, it is not going to work, but I think that is where we have to start from.
You have to find a way to make it exciting, show the linkages. I personally like to break things down in a simple fashion, and I think this is the way we have to start.
We also have to provide information out there as to how you can access these agricultural advantages."
