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IVPT to introduce ‘attractive agriculture’ to change mindset about farming

Published:Monday | May 30, 2022 | 12:05 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
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Courtney Cole (left), special projects director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in dialogue with Dave Fairman, vice president, The Best Dressed Chicken Division, Jamaica Broilers Group at the launch of the IVPT’s School of Agriculture in Sp
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Courtney Cole (left), special projects director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in dialogue with Dave Fairman, vice president, The Best Dressed Chicken Division, Jamaica Broilers Group at the launch of the IVPT’s School of Agriculture in Spring Village, St Catherine.,
Principal Oral Wilks
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Principal Oral Wilks
Executive Chairman, Institute of Vocational and Professional Training, Randy Finnikin (second right), explains the operations of a section of the institution’s greenhouse to (from left) Jamaica Agricultural Society Vice President, Denton Alvaranga; Gener
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Executive Chairman, Institute of Vocational and Professional Training, Randy Finnikin (second right), explains the operations of a section of the institution’s greenhouse to (from left) Jamaica Agricultural Society Vice President, Denton Alvaranga; General Operations Manager, Best Dressed Chicken Processing Plant, Steve Palmer; and Chairman, Spring Village Development Foundation, Wayne Saunderson. The occasion was a tour of the facility following the opening of the IVPT’s School of Agriculture in Bushy Park, St Catherine, on Thursday.
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In a move to transform how people see and respond to agriculture, and to begin the process of tackling some deficiencies now existing in the sector, the Institute of Vocational & Professional Training (IVPT) launched its agricultural school UJnew focus in this very important sector.”

THERE IS A GAP

Principal Oral Wilks said the venture is one he wants to see in St Catherine and elsewhere, and he is excited to be part of a team that is promoting this transformational agricultural training programme.

“We have the people coming from the colleges and universities, but there is a gap; and this is where we come in with our six-month course in crop production and one-year [course] in general agriculture,” he observed.

He emphasised that this kind of training will create rounded and skilled farmworkers, not just labourers.

Guest speaker at the launch, Director of Special Projects in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Courtney Cole, said the institute, with it agricultural training school, will have a positive impact on the St Catherine community just as it has had in other areas of skills training.

“I am pleased to note that one of the leading agricultural programmes offered by IVPT is beekeeping, which is an integral and long-standing emphasis of the Ministry of Agriculture,” Cole stated, noting that there is a great future in beekeeping and its associated areas.

He disclosed that the global trade in honey is valued at approximately US$8.5 billion.

And while food security was the prevailing punch line, Jamaica Broilers Vice-President Dave Fairman, Best Dressed Chicken Division, sounded a note of caution.

“Food security is not just because of the time we are in, and when there is normality everything goes back to where it was. This is a critical juncture, and we need to embrace it and take it to the next level,” he warned.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com