Dominica: Over 50 primary schools start growing short term crops

Roseau, Dominica: Over 50 primary schools partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture of Dominica to grow short-term crops and enhance local produce farming. The students of the school have been involved in land preparation, crop establishment and the monitoring of these crops.

The initiative has been taking place under the National Agriculture Education Programme, which is aimed at enhancing local farming and promoting locally grown agri-products. Through the programmes, schools are provided with all necessary planting materials, tools, and equipment to grow short-term crops.

With the help of tools, the students do the work and get their plots ready, which could enhance their crops. In addition to that, weekly site visits have also been led by the area extension team, who provided efficient guidance and technical advice to the teachers and students.

The government of Dominica has been working to enhance the agriculture sector with several initiatives so that locally grown products could be used more and the import percentage could be minimized. Recently, the government commissioned Dominica China Agriculture Science Complex Building to research and exchange knowledge in the field of Agriculture.

The facility is aimed at providing significant aid in reducing food imports and increasing Dominica’s agricultural output. With the strategic investment, the agricultural output will be increased with the creation of more sustainable Agri-based jobs, higher incomes, and an enhanced capacity to satisfy the growing food and nutrition demands of the local, regional, and global populations.

Subsequently, the students of the primary schools will be given a platform to understand the importance of the agriculture sector and learn to grow the local products, which are the backbone of the economy of Dominica.

The programme will teach the students new skills for growing products and embracing the “Nature Isle” status of the country. The initiative will teach them land preparation and crop establishment which will also promote them to start their business in the agriculture sector.

Several initiatives such as Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project is also aimed at strengthening the farmers of Dominica so that they could grow their business and crops despite the challenges associated with the climate change.

Netizens lauded the initiative and said that the government should continue their work in the agriculture sector. One added,” It’s a great initiative, I hope moving forward it will expand to every community on the island , that’s my hope , because we have had so many promises, and things never come to its fruition, so am positively optimistic moving forward.”