JERMAINE Joseph, Field Assistant of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) disclosed that the annual Secondary Schools Hydroponics, or soilless gardening, competition is definitely on this year. The proposed date for the launching of the competition is September 6.
IICA’s partners will be the Ministry of Education, the Partners of the Americas, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The objectives of the competition are: to promote in children an early interest in activities which enhance food security, nutrition and health; to rejuvenate students’ interest in Agriculture Science; and to expose them to new and innovative technology.
Joseph said this year’s competition will be divided into two (2) phases, the first of which starts on September 6th and will last for one week, during which pupils and teachers will be briefed on the rules of the competition and on the basic principles of hydroponic gardening.
The second phase will commence immediately after the end of the first phase, and will see commencement of cultivation of crops by the participants, using hydroponic techniques.
The cultivation plots will be judged fortnightly, and the competition will end in the last week of Agriculture Month, October 2012.
The winners will be announced thereafter.
The prizes will include trophies, farming tools, and equipment such as knapsack sprayers, farming manuals, and seedlings.
In an overview, Joseph disclosed that the Secondary Schools Children Hydroponics Competition started in 2007 with fifteen(15) schools from around Region 4 (Demerara/Mahaica) participating.
A total of fifteen (15) teachers and one hundred and fifty (150) students were taught the basic principles of hydroponics, and were given opportunity to display their competence and adaptation of those principles by competing against each other.
This competition has since grown to become an annual event on the Ministry of Education and IICA’s calendar of activities.
The number of schools participating in the completion has increased from fifteen (15) in 2007 to forty-five (45) across Regions Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Three (West Demerara/ Essequibo Islands), Four (Demerara/Mahaica), Five (Mahaica/Berbice), Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice).
Joseph disclosed that the defending champions in this competition are the Bygeval Secondary School of East Coast Demerara.
He said the competition is usually very keen, and whether Bygeval can gain two victories in a row remains to be seen.
“In the end, of course,” he said, “given the exposure and the skills learnt, everyone wins.”