Region 3 schools win Home Economics Competition
STUDENTS of West Demerara and La Venture secondary schools in Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) demonstrated their superior culinary skills on Friday last when they emerged winners of the National Schools Home Economics Competition at St Joseph High School in Georgetown.
The keen rivalry, organised by the Education Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), was staged ahead of the observation of World Food Day 2011 on October 16,  under the theme ‘Food prices: from crisis to stability’.
The contest was divided into two categories, ‘Businessman’s lunch’ and ‘Students lunch’ and attracted participation from 15 schools countrywide.
West Demerara Secondary secured the top place in the Students’ Lunch category while La Venture Secondary outperformed rivals in the other group.
In the rivalry for students’ lunch, Anna Regina Secondary from Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) placed second and Brickdam Secondary in the city, third. Harmony Secondary in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) and Tucville Secondary, also from the capital, won the second and third places, respectively, for Businessman’s Lunch.
The cooking activity was aimed at promoting the use of local produce in the preparation of low-cost meals, innovative and nutritious meals, targeting secondary school Home Economics students in all Education Districts.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh, addressing the gathering of students, teachers and officials, pointed out that a healthy and balanced diet contributes significantly to building the concentration of the child in the learning process.
He said the Government is spending $1.5 billion on school-feeding programmes for the benefit of some 50,000 schoolchildren countrywide and the World Bank will, shortly, publish a report of the impact on the education system. 
Mr. Baksh said the ministry has also intensified focus on agriculture in schools and more students continue to sit the subject at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
Currently, 141 schools are part of the national gardening programme and he said efforts are being made to increase the number.
BACKBONE
Baksh said agriculture is the backbone of the economy and interest in it must be stimulated at the school level.
He appealed to Guyanese to consume local produce, noting that the secondary school students in the Home Economics Competition have, in a small way, shown that this can be done.
Baksh lamented that foreign food is the prime contributor to obesity from which too many people in the country are suffering.
He said, apart from consuming local produce, a balanced diet and regular exercise have been recommended to help obese persons, notably those who have attained “whale status”.
FAO Country Representative, Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul warned that volatile food prices and unfair trade policies hurt agriculture and the poor farmer by generating several negative spin-off effects.
These include the loss of meals and  malnourishment in poor communities and conflicts.
She said a more coordinated approach is needed to avoid poor nations becoming victims of unfair trade polices and stressed that investment in agricultural research, development and assistance to poor farmers are critical to taking the agriculture sectors of countries to the next level while ensuring that the poor earn  profitable livelihoods.
In that regard, the diplomat commended Guyana for the work it has been doing.