Two weeks ago, agriculture stakeholders were hit with a gut punch when news reports emerged that the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) announced Double Award Agricultural Science was among four subjects which were planned to be suspended due to poor enrolment numbers.
One such stakeholder is agriculture consultant Riyadh Mohammed, who questioned the decision given Caricom’s goal to reduce the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
“The need for food is increasing due to the growing population, which is why agricultural education is essential. Generations to come will know exactly where their food comes from thanks to agricultural education, and more people might be inspired to work in the fields in order to support the expanding population. Analysis of agriculture, natural resources, food supplies, and related topics are all included in the field of agricultural education. Fundamentally, it’s a notion that keeps people alive since agriculture is necessary for existence. The majority of agricultural education takes place through the study of different farming-related subjects, such as different planting and growing techniques or the background of T&T agriculture’s evolution,” Mohammed told the Sunday Business Guardian.
CXC has since reversed the decision to scrap the Double Award Agriculture Science programme.
Mohammed said he was still wary.
“I’m not yet fully comforted by any statement, until our Double Award Agricultural Science is as it should be, fully supported throughout the education and training system! It is here that our leaders must show their commitment to our people, country and region, as they lobby for protecting our agriculture sector and all of its stakeholders! Humans require a few fundamental necessities. To survive, we need access to food, water, air, and shelter. Humans cannot survive if even one of these fundamental needs is not satisfied,” said Mohammed who told the Sunday Business Guardian that he had not seen supporting information concerning the low enrolment numbers so far.
“I have seen no statistics in the public domain. Regardless of having published or not published the “low-student enrollment,” what the authorities should be more concerned about is the current status of food production and nutrition security and the future of producing safe and nutritious food for all. Caricom heads of Government have pledged to cut the region’s high food import cost by 25% by 2025,” said Mohammed.
He stressed that food production should remain a focus for educators around the region as a result and indeed more should be done to encourage education through the subject.
Agriculture activist and President of the T&T Farmers Union Shiraz Khan said the decline in the number of participants in the subject in this country was linked to the limited number of schools which currently can offer the subject as well as even fewer specialists willing to work with schools in that area.
He explained this is why Agricultural Science -Single Award which focuses on vegetables and crop development has remained on the syllabus while the Double Award, which is connected to livestock, is in danger of getting cut.
“The reason for that is that a number of these secondary schools that have the pens and the ability to do the livestock have not done that because they couldn’t get personnel to handle the teaching and the assisting in that area, “ said Khan, “What has happened is that many people do not want to take that position, because it’s kind of like a farmhand position and it’s very lowly paid. So people who have studied it and trying to go and assist people in learning are realising that the package is not attractive.”
In the absence of these workers, who would have previously tended to animals, Khan said the school’s livestock was largely given away to pet shops and agriculture shops when schools ought to have engaged farmers to help ensure that these animals would still be available to the schools.
Khan however said this needed to be addressed, as like Mohammed, he noted that Agriculture had far too important a role to be discarded even partially.
“If it is that you only want to encourage people to do vegetable production is that balancing the agriculture sector? Is that balance to the people who would like to learn a bit about something?” he asked.
“I think it is unfair for them to remove it just like that without ensuring that all aspects are taken into place to make it an even environment for teaching or learning with livestock than just to remove it. Many of the present days farmers probably have passed through that system, and gained their love for agriculture from there,” said Khan, who called for an intervention so that the skilled workers can return to the schools and the option can remain for students.