STUDENTS of Anna Regina Secondary School on Essequibo Coast, recently, toured the Hydroponics Garden at State House in Georgetown and a number of agricultural entities in Region 4 (Demerara/Mahaica).

It was part of their reward for winning the fourth Secondary Schools’ Hydroponics Competition, sponsored by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), late last year.
The IIICA contest was staged in collaboration with United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO), Partners of the Americas and the Ministries of Education and Agriculture.
The touring students were accompanied by Mr. Wilmot Garnett, IICA Representative in Guyana and their itinerary included Joshua House and the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC) Packaging Facility, also in the city, the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) and National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).
They had been scheduled to visit the Aquaculture Station, on East Coast Demerara, as well, but were prevented by heavy rainfall.
IICA Field Assistant Jermaine Joseph reported that, at all the locations visited, the students met and spoke with senior agricultural officers, were congratulated on winning the competition and encouraged to pursue careers in the field of agriculture.
Students from 42 secondary schools in Regions 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam), 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), 4 (Demerara/Mahaica), 5 (Mahaica/Berbice), 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) participated in the contest, the fourth such with IICA sponsorship.
The seven finalists were St. Rose’s High, Berbice High, Uitvlugt Secondary, Linden Foundation, Number 29 Secondary, Buxton Secondary and Anna Regina Secondary.