THE Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, on Wednesday held its Third Pesticides Awareness in Secondary School’s drama competition and Long Service Award Ceremony for several current and retired employees of the agricultural sector.

The event was held at the National Cultural Centre, where the Honourable Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder in his feature address expressed immense pleasure with and gratitude to the students and awardees.

“It is a pleasure to be here today to celebrate with the young minds that are Guyana’s future, and to also honour those who would have dedicated years of service to the development of the agricultural sector in Guyana,” said Minister Holder.

Twenty-four officers from the head office of the ministry ; the Hydro-meteorological Service; the Fisheries Department; the Guyana Livestock Development Authority; the National Agricultural And Extension Institute (NAREI); the Guyana Rice Development Board and the Mahaica/ Mahaicony/ Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority along with 10 retirees from the Ministry of Agriculture head office, Hydromet, NAREI and Fisheries Department were acknowledged at the gathering.

“While we recognise the quantity of years you have given to the public service, today, I wish to emphasise the quality of service required in the workplace today on characteristics such as, punctuality, team work, collaborative initiatives, values, communication, resourcefulness, responsibility, professionalism and good work ethic. All of these and more translate into exemplary performance. Also, on positive attitudes and team-spirit which have and can further propel the sector forward, and will undoubtedly continue to contribute to its future success,” the minister explained.

Minister Holder also expressed pleasure with the students’ dramatic performances and involvement in the Pesticides Awareness programme.

“It also gives me great pleasure to congratulate the 10 schools participating in this year’s Dramatic Presentation of the Pesticides Awareness Programme in Secondary Schools, which seeks to raise awareness of the theme for Pesticides Awareness 2019, ‘Eat Healthy, Live Healthy, Reduce Pesticides Use’; I believe we are certainly being educated today about the dangers of pesticides. As the Minister of Agriculture, I have always advocated the importance of our youths being involved in agriculture,” the minister explained.
He added that agriculture plays a vital role in Guyana’s future and the future of the sector lies in the involvement of young people in agriculture and the development of a passion for it.

In 2008 the PTCCB launched its Pesticides awareness in Secondary Schools initiative; the PTCCB used several methods to relate the message to students across the country and for the past three years the board has made use of drama in the form skits, plays and poetry.
Secondary schools from all 10 administrative regions were selected; the students were tasked with preparing a dramatic skit highlighting the guidelines and rules one must follow when using pesticides, along with the consequences and effects that may follow when the said guidelines are not applied.

The competition was narrowed down to three finalists: Tutorial Academy, Vryman’s Erven Secondary School and St Rose’s High School. At the end of the dramatic presentation, students of St Rose’s High won the competition with their captivating and informative skit; Vryman’s Erven Secondary School placed second and Tutorial Academy placed third.