By Damion Mitchell, Staff Reporter 
Julia Brown, process development manager at Scientific Research Council (SRC) looks on as Opal Slater, the operator of Woodside Enterprises prepares smoked fish at the SRC Food and Technology Institute.
FROM AN agency set up by government more than 40 years ago to provide advice on matters relating to science and technology, the Scientific Research Council (SRC) has emerged as a champion in Jamaica's development - making science and technology work for all.
But the SRC's strides to triumph were not like prized steps on a flight of crystal stairs, several gorges had to be crossed; in the end sweetening the songs of success that now herald from its head offices in Hope Gardens, St. Andrew.
Through its head offices and outposts in Mandeville, Montego Bay and Savanna-la-Mar, the SRC has transformed the notions of science and technology from highly academic disciplines to integral components in production.
But just how has the SRC managed this feat since its establishment in May 1960?
According Dr. Audia Barnett, the SRC's executive director, through its six divisions, the SRC has been an engine of growth, comparing to many developed countries.
The Technical Support Division includes a pilot plant which facilitates the development of products and processes;
The Information Services Division consists of a Science and Technology Popularisation Unit and a Specialised Library and also houses the Caribbean Energy Information System - a regional focal point for the collection, analysis and dissemination of energy information for several Caribbean countries;
The Product and Research Development Division conducts applied research and development and is also responsible for creating value-added products;
The Process Development Division primarily concentrates on process engineering and quality management and seeks to optimise production processes.
The other divisions, Finance and Human Resource and Administration deal with accounting and staff-related matters respectively.
"It is a team approach," said Dr. Barnett, noting that this ensured the further growth of the council. She said with increasing global competition, it was necessary for improved production to be facilitated.
But more importantly, she said it was crucial that more young people be introduced to science and technology. Referring to a study by the National Commission on Science and Technology, she said many children believed that there were prescribed genetic criteria in order to become a scientist.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SOCIETIES
Against this background, the SRC embarked on a programme to establish Science and Technology Societies in schools with 400 schools currently enrolled.
Each year several activities are hosted to more intimately engage children in science, while several science teachers have been benefiting from an internship programme which places them in different businesses to gain practical experience of the theories they impart in schools.
But Dr. Barnett said there were still an inadequate number of private sector organisations, which could accommodate the teachers.
Meanwhile, the SRC outposts have been working at the 'grassroots' level to promote science and technology. In Westmoreland, some residents are now making value-added products as a means of income. But there is need for further strengthening of the outpost in Mandeville, Manchester.
And, within the next five years, Dr. Barnett expects that at least one outpost would be established in every parish.
While it is impossible to catalogue all its attainments, the tremendous number of persons who have benefited from the SRC is a testament of its indelible contributions to Jamaica.
AN 18-YEAR-OLD DREAM
Opal Slater, the operator of Woodside Enterprises, feels indebted to the SRC for helping her to grip an 18-year-old dream, which had seemed impalpable.
Ms. Slater has made a business from smoking and packaging imported sea trout and selling them to hotels on the North Coast.
"I came to SRC more than five years ago and they helped me with the whole development of the product," she said. Routinely Ms. Slater, a trained chemical technologist, visits the SRC to use its facilities for the processing and packaging of her product.
Julia Brown is the process development manager at the SRC. She said there has been an increase in the number of persons utilising the facilities at its Food Technology Institute, to process items for commercial purposes. In addition, she said the SRC has continued to provide training for numerous persons interested in making foods.
In fact, between April 2001 and March 2002, some 174 clients were trained in food processing and between April 2002 and March 2003 the figure climbed to 239. At the same time, the SRC is concentrating on developing its own formulations.
Only recently, the formula for the sorrel chutney, which was developed by the SRC, was sold exclusively to local manufacturers, while several companies have purchased the recipes for the popular sorrel squash.
For its work in environmental protection, the SRC is the recipient of the prestigious international Green Apple Environmental Award. The brainchild of a wastewater management system, the SRC has developed a model system at its head offices that recycles wastewater and in the process, produces methane (cooking gas). At present, the recycled water is used for irrigation at the SRC and by the end of January the methane will be used as the energy source for cooking at its Food Technology Institute.
Already several organisations have sought the assistance of the SRC to establish this facility while the Government is now examining the use of this technology as an energy-saving measure at large public buildings.
GENE BANK
At the SRC, there is an appreciation for plants that have been woven into the Jamaica's heritage. It has developed a gene bank which currently has about 60 species of important plants vulnerable to destruction in the event of a disaster. In addition, it boasts the largest Musa (banana variestites) gene bank in the Caribbean and Central America. Also, tissue culture technologies are being used to produce large volumes of disease-free plantlets.
But with so many attainments, the SRC is still poised for progress and over the next five years it expects to have more feathers in its cap with its laboratory being among the first local facilities to be internationally accredited. In addition, there should be developments in extracting anti-oxidants from several local plants, while there should be expansions of the current wastewater treatment systems.
The SRC... "Making Science and Technology Work for You."
