-Local NGO launches ‘Farmtastic’ competition

By Naomi Parris

CLOSING the curtains on this year’s Agriculture Month celebrations, the Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges Foundation in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council Region 10 has launched its ‘Farmtastic’ competition for young children.
According to the President of the Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges Foundation, Marlique Gabriel Williams, the initiative aims to raise awareness on the importance of Agriculture and to steal the interest of children from the distractions of technology.

“We are educating children at a tender age of the value and the importance of agriculture, basically training our children today so that can feed our country tomorrow that is our objective,” he said.

The competition he noted will target children between the ages of four to six.
Williams noted that the non-governmental organisations will be distributing gardening tools as well as tomatoes and pak choi seeds to 15 children who will be graded over six weeks on their plant progress, cleanliness, and creativity.

He added that participants will also be required to keep a record of their plant growth as a means of teaching them management and responsibility skills.
“The way in [which] we constructed this initiative is for it to be fun and friendly and you know since they are home and school is out, this would be a good time for them to practise farming. They will be practising to be their farm managers; they will have their own record sheet and everything; so it’s also teaching them responsibility,” he said.
He disclosed that at the end of the six weeks, whatever the children have produced will be sold to show them the financial benefit they can gain from farming. “[We] want them to see the benefit of all the hard work that they would’ve put in,” he said.

Williams said that himself and team are hoping that the project will give the young participants a nudge into the agricultural sector, as well as prepare them for higher education.

“It will give them a kind of edge, so that when they are ready to go to secondary school and learn about agriculture science or primary school where they may do a little planting, they will already have a background in the [field of agriculture],” Williams stated.
He added at the end of the competition, the first, second, and third-place holders will receive electronic tablets along with agriculture hampers containing more equipment and seedlings to promote continuous farming activity.