by Brian Ho
The Ministry of Agriculture’s internship programme for a group of young people ended last week with a closing ceremony at the Point Wharf.
Owalabi Elabanjo of the Ministry of Agriculture said that some of the interns, especially those who were assigned to the livestock and fisheries divisions, even expressed their wishes to continue working in the Ministry. He then called for the students to encourage their classmates, especially those involved in agricultural science programmes to take advantage of the ministry’s initiative.
“Agriculture is a way of life,” Elabanjo said, stressing that agriculture is important to all aspects of human life. This point was later supported and further emphasised by Minister of Agriculture Senator Joanne Massiah who noted that all forms of food, certain types of clothing, namely cotton, and even things like fuel (ethanol) come from some aspect of the agricultural industry.
Massiah, who was unable to be on the island for the opening ceremony, said that she had been keeping tabs on the programme and commended the interns for taking interest in it, especially since most young people shy away from agriculture.
She noted the work the students had completed over the course of the internship had been of a very high quality and, as part of World Food Day, she hopes to bring them all back together to present them with the first seedlings for distribution.
She then explained that people have no reason to shy away from the agricultural industry because it is not only about field work, labouring in the hot sun.
Minister Massiah noted there are opportunities for aspiring scientists in the industry, as people are needed to conduct research, evaluate the health of crops and livestock and perform chemical tests on soils and other compounds to ensure they will be beneficial to the crops being planted.
She added that farming can also be a very affluent business to get into, once the proper plans and measures are in place. As such, she expressed hopes that the experience gained from the programme had sparked some interest in the minds of the interns and possibly that they would become involved in the agricultural sector.
Clarence E. Pilgrim, the ministry of agriculture’s permanent secretary, was also pleased with the successes of the programme. He noted that, as it was a new initiative, there were bound to be hiccups but fortunately these did not affect the experience of the interns in a significant way. Pilgrim also congratulated Carlon Knight, the CSEC top student and a participant in the internship, on his recent successes in the CSEC examinations.
Knight himself also gave brief remarks at the ceremony. He expressed hopes for the continuation of the internship programme, without hiccups next time and also commended Minister Massiah for starting the programme.
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