THE St. Ignatius Secondary school in Region 9 has 668 students, most of whom participate in agriculture until they are in Grades 10 and 11, where they select the subjects they want to pursue at the CXC. Over the past six years the school has recorded 100 percent passes in agriculture, an indication of the emphasis being placed on the subject. Recently, the Ministers of Agriculture and a team travelled to the St. Ignatius Secondary where they officially handed over to the students and community the school’s farm which was made possible through the Healthy Practices Programme. The farm utilises a combination of shade cultivation and drip irrigation methodologies which prove to be a good alternative for farming in Region 9.
This is a collaborative venture among the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Education, Amerindian Affairs and Local Government and Regional Development. Technical and financial support was also given by the Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO) Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Since the conceptualisation of the project, the farm has earned more than $160,000 after harvesting over 1000 pounds of fresh vegetables, including pak choi, tomatoes and peppers.
The project, which commenced last September, has been deemed a success by Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramammy, who also announced that 30 other secondary schools will be added to the programme. This three-year component is being developed jointly by PAHO/WHO and the FAO.
 “Now that we have a chance to extend this to 30 schools, we must ensure that the lessons from the St. Ignatius integrated farm are paid attention to, so that when we make mistakes in the other schools they will be new mistakes because we face additional challenges, but we must improve on what we have done here,” he said. The project will also see the addition of livestock and aquaculture.

 “This farm was established not just to produce enough food for the children in the dorm and for the school feeding programme … it was made to produce excess food, so that we could sell some to the community and the supermarkets and the children will learn business principles and practices, and so long before they graduate they would have some experience,” the minister emphasised.
He reminded that Guyana is the leading country in the Caribbean when it comes to agriculture and food security, and apart from that, government intends to also ensure the populace is nutrition secure.
Minister Ramsammy stressed that Region 9 is fast becoming a major agriculture region, citing projects such as the establishment of a farm at Moco Moco and another in Santa Fe, where rice, soya beans and ground provisions are being cultivated.
Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Baksh, acknowledged the difficulty, in time past, for students to access education in the Rupununi, hence the school is critical to the continued advancement of the region.
In recognition of the role played by the supporting agencies, Minister Baksh stressed the need to involve others such as the Regional Democratic Council, the community, and the Parent Teachers’ Association. “With such a collective, I believe this project should never fail,” he stated.
Director of NAREI, Dr. Oudho Homenauth, noted that the idea of the Healthy Practices Programme is being promoted throughout the region and is also being referred to as ‘From the earth to the plate.’
He emphasised that what the project has brought to the table is the introduction of having a healthy diet. From NAREI’s standpoint, the project is a reflection of the appropriate technology being developed by the institution that can be transferred through the country.
The St. Ignatius farm is the first of its kind and initiated for several reasons, one of which is the technology used will see food being produced all year round in Region 9. Based on the weather conditions, the use of the shade house and drip irrigation methods would not affect the farm’s progress.
Dr. Homenauth highlighted that the ministry’s interest is not in the cost of the facility but in its benefits, one of which is that the students will be taking the techniques learnt to their respective communities for replication.
The shade cultivation/drip irrigation methods have proven to be appropriate on savannah lands.
PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. Beverly Barnett, in her presentation, noted that hinterland communities have fewer opportunities to access markets and procuring nutritious food can be expensive. “The Global School Based Student Health Survey 2010-2011 carried out by the Ministry of Health with support from PAHO/WHO identified four nutritional habits and inadequate physical exercise as significant problems among school children, and feeding programmes has been implemented in several primary schools in Regions 1,7, 8 and 9,” she said.
Meanwhile during a courtesy visit to President Donald Ramotar earlier this week, Head teacher of the St Ignatius School, Yvette Archer-Alexander, reported that the students are already beginning to quantify their agricultural yields as the vegetables grown under the project are unlike any other in the region.
Poultry has now been added to the agricultural practices and the agriculture curriculum will be elevated to a double award for student performance. (GINA)