Caribbean Entrepreneurs to explore innovative agricultural production
The inauguration of the hydroponics site at Guyana’s National
Agriculture Research Extension & Institute (NAREI) on April 27 marks
a mile-stone in the promotion of innovative agricultural production
systems as a model for local Caribbean entrepreneurship. The
inauguration is part of a regional project supported by the OAS
Development Cooperation Fund (DCF), designed to develop the
knowledge and shade-house skills required for the construction and
operation of shade-house plant growing facilities in five Caribbean
countries.
The project entitled
“Provisions: Organic, Hydroponic, and Hybrid system Growing for
Caribbean Schools and Model for Local Caribbean Entrepreneurship”
addresses two key concerns in the region: adaptation to climate
change, and enhanced entrepreneurial activity. In addition, the
project will support technical and vocational training through the
development of highly-adaptable educational resource materials and
curriculum for use in Caribbean schools.
In his remarks during the inauguration, the Minister of Agriculture
of Guyana, Leslie Ramsammy emphasized that as a region, “our primary
goal has moved from ending poverty --which we have by and large
successfully tackled-- to creating wealth through entrepreneurship.
The Provisions project
encourages this entrepreneurship.” Minister Ramsammy stressed the
need to further link technology developments with agriculture, not
only to boost competitiveness, but also to cater to new generations
of professionals, noting that “young people will not pursue
agriculture the same their grandparents and their great-grandparents
did.”
The OAS Representative in Guyana, Jean Ricot Dormeus described the
inauguration and the project as “a major step forward, because it
comes to providing effective training, skills and tools to schools,
farmers, extension officers and underprivileged groupings, thus
contributing to empower them. In short, it is a project that aims at
creating entrepreneurs and disseminating knowledge, while taking
advantage of what we have available and addressing the wider issue
of climate change.”
Speaking of the way forward, regional Project Coordinator, Leighton
Naraine, said that the initiative will “position students to
transform science into action, with results that can impact career
paths and livelihoods. This may be just the beginning of more
widespread use of sustainable, non-traditional farming methods in
the Caribbean.” Guyana’s hydroponics site is the first of five site
replications in the Caribbean, to be followed by similar sites in
Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados.
The OAS provides financial resources for this and other regional
projects through its
Development
Cooperation Fund (formerly FEMCIDI), which is financed by
voluntary annual contributions made by the Member States. The seed
funding provided to national and multinational initiatives responds
to the OAS-SEDI focus on strengthening institutional and human
resource capacity, while promoting triangular and south-south
cooperation.
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Organic, Hydroponic and Hybrid-System Growing for Caribbean Schools from FEMCIDI on Vimeo.
Source: Provisions Promo Video