A BATCH of 120 students, including 55 females, graduated from the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) last Friday at the institution in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, and during an impressive ceremony the agriculture sector’s impact on the economy was highlighted. 

Of the 120 graduates, 22 were from GSA Essequibo and 98 from GSA Mon Repos, while 55 were females.
This year the Chief Executive Officer’s prize went to Hussain Ali. This award is given to the best graduating student in any of the two-year programmes offered by the institution at its Mon Repos campus and the Chairman’s Prize (the best graduating student in any of the two programmes offered by the institution at its Essequibo campus) went to Benny Augustus.
The graduates, during their tenure at the institution, pursued diploma and certificate programmes in agriculture, animal health and veterinary public health, fisheries studies, forestry and for the first time, agro-processing.
This is the institution’s 50th anniversary (1963-2013) and graduation exercise.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Lesile Ramsammy, delivering the keynote address said that the 50th class was a testimony to the strength of the institution. He noted too that the institution has been playing a fundamental role in agriculture education in Guyana and in the wider Caribbean, in building capacity. One of the graduates is in fact a scholarship student from St Vincent and The Grenadines.
He said, “For those of you graduating today, you should feel a sense of pride that you are graduating from a school that has a long and good history, and you will add to its reputation…I look forward to seeing many of you contributing to the success of agriculture in our country.”
Dr. Ramsammy explained that the Government is committed to moving forward the role of agriculture to meet the future needs of the country and to the development of human resources.
In this regard, the Government of Guyana is investing annually $1.2M per student at the Guyana School of Agriculture. The Government is investing approximately $600M to GSA and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for the training of young people to participate in the development of agriculture and the country.

DEVELOPMENT
Minister Ramsammy explained, “We see agriculture as a vehicle to accelerate our development. Agriculture has been responsible for bringing Guyana as a least developing country to low middle income country. It is now time that we move towards a high middle income country and I am confident that agriculture is the vehicle that will take us there.”
Investment in an agricultural workforce through human resource development was highlighted as a priority in the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2013-2020 National Development Strategy. According to the strategic plan, agriculture will be transformed and used as a vehicle to promote national prosperity, end hunger and provide opportunities.

MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY
Dr. Ramsammy stated that the government recognises that the development of human resources is vital and continues to invest in training persons, particularly for careers in the agriculture sector in recognition that the sector has helped the country to move from least developing to being a middle-income country, with the potential to continue the movement to an even higher middle-income status.
He challenged the GSA management to commit to further developing the school curriculum and to introduce new courses and further distance learning for the school.

NEW COURSES
With the transformation of the agriculture sector, GSA has introduced a new course, the theoretical and practical aspects of the operation of the tractor as well as other courses. In addition, to cater for the agro-processing sector and to give students the opportunity to establish their own agro-processing ventures, a new one-year Certificate in Agro-Processing was introduced for the academic year 2013/2014.
He indicated that the various farms operated by the Guyana Livestock Development Board (GLDA) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) can serve as attachment centres for the students, who could be facilitated in short specialist courses.
Dr. Ramsammy said that specialised courses will provide better education. He also pointed out that many individuals practice agriculture in Guyana without a good sense of the cost of production and reiterated that it should be a part of the curriculum. “GSA students should have the skill of utilising the tools of Cost of Production,” he said.
He explained that agriculture has the potential to guarantee Guyana and Guyanese a better life and with agriculture as the vehicle, by or before 2025, Guyana will take the lead in ending hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Minister Ramsammy said that agriculture will ensure that economies like Guyana and other countries will continue to move forward and onward.
He lauded the performance of the rice industry thus far. According to him, $23B in paddy was sold to millers, of which US$150M in paddy and rice was exported. “There is no industry as large as agriculture in Guyana,” he noted.
Country Representative, Inter-American Institution for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Wilmot Garnett, who delivered the charge to the graduates this year, urged them to recognise their importance and to contribute to the modernisation of agriculture.
He said, “Our Ministry of Agriculture is Guyana’s vehicle to sustainable economic development…this vehicle requires a sustainable service plan to remain viable.”
“Agriculture production can be for both domestic consumption and for the export market. Being able to provide for oneself is important but in order for any country to be progressive and competitive in this forum of globalisation, we must ensure that our agricultural products meet the international standard,” he said.
“Those of you from the rural communities, remember you are privileged to be selected to lead and empower, especially our small farmers. You have been educated to modernise agriculture,” Garnett said.
He noted that the GSA has done its part in ensuring that students are well-rounded and ready to meet the challenges of agriculture and encouraged the students to be steadfast in their approach and proactive in confronting these challenges. Garnett also urged the maintaining of zeal and professionalism and encouraged continued learning and networking, to keep up-to-date on new technologies and practices.
The students successfully completed the following programmes at the GSA institutions across the country – Diploma in Agriculture; (Mon Repos) with 45 graduates, (Essequibo) seven graduates, Diploma in Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health 10 graduates, Certificate in Agriculture 15 graduates, Certificate in Agro-Processing five graduates, Certificate in Forestry (Mon Repo) 23 graduates and (Essequibo) 15 graduates.
Written By Sandy Agasen