The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) is pleased with the implementation of a four day agriculture workshop on hydroponics delivered at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in Mon Repos, Guyana. The training was conducted by CFBC lecturers Dr. Leighton Naraine and Stuart LaPlace from April 27th-30th.
The workshopis part of a project entitledProvisions: Organic, Hydroponic Hybrid-System of Growing For Caribbean Schools and Model for Local Caribbean Entrepreneurship or The Provisions Project for short.Dr. Leighton Naraine and Stuart LaPlace, both lecturers at the CFBC are spearheading the project where the hydroponics model developed at the CFBC will be replicated in five Caribbean countries; Guyana being the first location. CEO of NAREI, Dr. Oudho Homenauth, said the institute wants to promote the “new agriculture” in Guyana and the Provisions Project makes this possible.
“What people are accustomed to, especially the young folks might be looking at the older people in the region and saying ‘hey this all about a lot of hard work, back breaking working in terms of using the hoe, and the fork and the cutlass…so the model we have been using in collaboration with the stakeholders…is fact the way to go,” Dr. Homenauth said.
Dr. Homenauth noted that the project is not confined to just one system of agriculture but involves a hybrid system which is a combination of hydroponics and organoponics. That technique was developed at the CFBC.
Dr. Leighton Naraine, who is the project team leader lauded the partnership with NAREI and is of the view that the training has left an impact on Guyana and its future in agriculture.
“At first when we made some field observation…we thought there is an abundance of food, there is an abundance of water; there is an abundance of good soil and so Guyana doesn’t need anything, they have the expertise and so why are we here,” he said. “A closer look, having gone through the week, although there is an abundance—let’s say production is very high, I cannot say definitively that production is very high,” he continued.
Students of several secondary schools in Guyana including the Guyana School of Agriculture participated in the workshop.
Stuart LaPlace, the project technical expert taught all the workshops. He gave practical demonstrations of how the hydroponics system works inside a shade house erected at NAREI especially for this project. The shade house also has an organoponics section. He was very impressed with the capacity of the students to practice what they learnt.
“What was most impressive was that some students were actually reenacting some of the planting techniques and strategies that I’ve shown them and not only that but explaining why it’s being done like that and some of the benefits and the things you look out for when you are planting. These students were basically chosen on the spot and they responded quite well and the enthusiasm was there. It show that they have learnt,” LaPlace added.
The Provisions Project is co-written by Dr. Kevin Meehan, Director, Haitian Studies Project, University of Central Florida (UCF).
The project is currently being implemented with funding from the OAS Development Cooperation Fund in Collaboration with the Governments of St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Guyana, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. Haiti will be the next country to be visited under this project. To learn more about the Provisions Project visit: www.facebook.com/provisionsproject.
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