Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 28, 2014 News
The Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) has graduated another batch of students, this time 120 persons, including 55 females with diplomas and/or certificates.
The students, who completed courses at the institution’s Mon Repos and Essequibo campuses, graduated in agriculture, animal health and forestry and for the first time, agro-processing.
With the current focus on transforming agriculture and using it as a vehicle to promote national prosperity, end hunger and provide opportunities, investment in an agricultural workforce has been identified as a priority to achieving this success. In fact securing an agricultural workforce through human resource development was identified as priority 15 in the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2013-2020 National Strategy.
During the graduation exercise, on Friday, GSA’s relevance was highlighted in this changing agricultural and development setting.
This is the agricultural institution’s 50th anniversary (1963-2013) and graduation exercise. The institution has therefore been playing a consistent leading role in agriculture education in Guyana and further, in the Caribbean, in building capacity. One of the graduates is in fact, a scholarship student from St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that the 50th class was testament to the strength of the institution.
“For those of you graduating today, you should feel a sense of pride that you are graduating from a school that has a long and good history, and you will add to its reputation,” he said.
“I look forward to seeing many of you contributing to the success of agriculture in our country,” he said.
Government, committed to advancing the role of agriculture to meet the future needs of the country, has equally committed to developing human resources, and in this regard is investing annually $1.2M per student at the GSA.
In fact at the GSA, and at the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (Guysuco) Training Centre at Port Mourant, Government is investing approximately $600M in the training of young people to participate in the development of agriculture.
“We see agriculture as a vehicle to accelerate our development. Agriculture has been responsible for bringing Guyana as a least developing country to low middle income country. It is now time that we move towards a high middle income country and I am confident that agriculture is the vehicle that will take us there,” Minister Ramsammy explained
Government recognises that unless it develops its human resources, “the potential of agriculture to rapidly bring our country to another level of development (high middle income country) will not happen,” he said.
The school, responding to the needs of the changing agriculture sector has introduced a number of new courses. To satisfy the skill of the agro-processing sector, and as well to provide students with skills to establish their own enterprises, a new one-year certificate in agro-processing was introduced for the academic year 2013-2014.
A new course in theoretical and practical aspects of the operation of tractors was also introduced, as well as two short courses. The first is the operation, repairs and maintenance of small equipment which targets field workers, technicians and farmers. The other course in urban agriculture techniques, in grow box/hydroponics targets women involved in urban farming, field technicians and teachers.
Minister Ramsammy challenged the GSA’s management to commit to further developing the school curriculum and to introduce new courses and further distance learning for the school. He posited that the various farms operated by the Guyana Livestock Development Board (GLDA) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) can serve as attachment centres for the students, who could be facilitated in short specialist courses such as the management of black sigatoka disease and red palm mites.
Meanwhile, the graduates were charged to set ablaze the modernisation of agriculture by Country Representative, Inter-American Institution for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Wilmot Garnett.
“Those of you from the rural communities, remember you are privileged to be selected to lead and empower especially our small farmers. You have been educated to modernise agriculture,” Garnett said.
He noted that the GSA has done its part in ensuring that students are well-rounded and ready to meet the challenges of agriculture. He encouraged the students to be steadfast in their approach and proactive in confronting these challenges.
Garnett also urged the maintaining of zeal and professionalism and encouraged continued learning and networking, to keep up to date on new technologies and practices.
Meanwhile, this year, the Chief Executive Officer’s prize went to Hussain Ali. This award is given to the best graduating student in any of the two-year programmes offered by the institution at its Mon Repos campus.
The Chairman’s Prize (the best graduating student in any of the two programmes offered by the institution at its Essequibo campus) went to Benny Augustus. (A GINA feature)
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