Commentary

Among Christopher Tufton's observations during his recent parliamentary review of the agricultural sector was the fact that these days, almost no Jamaican students graduate from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, Trinidad, campus.

Indeed, it was a point that this newspaper made last year in highlighting that a mere five, or 0.15 per cent of all Jamaican graduates from the UWI in 2007 gained degrees in agriculture. But according to Dr Tufton, Jamaica's agriculture minister, the situation has grown even worse. He said, during his June 29 presentation, only one Jamaican graduated in agriculture in 2008, and the St Augustine "agriculture faculty has long been reduced to a department".

Should the minister's observation about the state of the St Augustine agriculture faculty be true, it is perhaps a reflection on the position and status of agriculture in the Caribbean, despite the graduation of 126 Trinidadians in 2007, and the campaign by Guyana's president, Bharrat Jagdeo, for food security in the Caribbean Community.

Agri at uwi mona welcome

Against the backdrop of his concern over the few Jamaican agricultural students at St Augustine - which has to do in part with the cost of going overseas - Dr Tufton will welcome the initiatives in agricultural training at the UWI's Mona campus in Jamaica.

Mona's scientists have long been engaged in agricultural research. Now, the campus is launching two programmes, which appear to fit into Dr Tufton's vision for creating a modern agriculture/agro-industrial sector.

One is a first degree in tropical horticulture, with applications for the first cohort now being invited. The other, about which we are particularly excited, is the master of science in agricultural entrepreneurship, which, according to the UWI, is "aimed at creating a new breed of agricultural practitioners/farmers in Jamaica and the Caribbean ... (who) would be technologically savvy, managerially strong, and capable of creating their own enterprises or successfully managing, rejuvenating or converting existing operations into profitable businesses".

Agricultural professionals

Additionally, graduates from this programme should, Mona says, be able to "translate cutting-edge agricultural research into opportunities along the value chain". In other words, there should be agricultural professionals, with the support of appropriate policies and available capital, who should be able to lift Jamaica's agriculture from the 19th to the 21st century.

The Mona initiative should dovetail neatly with a degree in agricultural engineering, to be offered by the University of Technology in conjunction with the College of Agriculture, Science and Education.

Yet, while the agricultural education prospects appear to be looking up at the tertiary level, there is need for much attention at the high-school level, where much of what passes for agricultural education is embarrassing to the concept.

Indeed, entrepreneurs who have hired recent 'graduates' from Elim and Knockalva and other high schools, which supposedly offer vocational and technical training, have been largely disappointed with their knowledge and skills. Such people won't be able to contribute substantially to a modern agricultural sector.

The curriculum of these institutions needs to be overhauled and, if necessary, modern, enlightened leadership installed.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.