Garvey Maceo High Receives US$10,000 from the FAO

Garvey Maceo High School, in Clarendon, has received US$10,000 ($890,000), from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA), to develop agriculture at the institution.
At a World Food Day ceremony at the school on October 16, the FAO Representative to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas, Dr. Dunstan Campbell, informed JIS News that each year they visit a school and assist with a project.
“The school has requested that the money be used for the construction of a slaughtering unit. They already have in place a poultry unit, and piggery, so we will build a slaughtering unit, which would mean that the meat coming from the farm would meet the food safety standards. Our hope is to ensure that people around the world grow more food, and that they consume local foods that are more nutritious and healthy, so that a healthy lifestyle can be generated from that,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr. Donovan Stanberry, explained that as part of the effort to build an awareness of the importance of agriculture, Extension Officers would be at the school to provide guidance. “They are establishing an orchard, and I am hoping that it will be successful. That will demonstrate that agriculture is viable and it will inculcate in the minds of young people the importance of agriculture,” he said.
Principal of the school, Mrs. Valda Gayle, said that when the Ministry and the FAO can give the school such support, “it means that they have confidence in us.”
“We are also committed to using it well, and ensure that students learn best practices from whatever is set up. And, we intend to make some money from the project, and we intend to be self-sufficient,” Mrs. Gayle said.
Garvey Maceo High is engaged in the cultivation of cane, banana and pumpkin, and the rearing of pigs, goats and chickens. The school has a population of 1,500 students and 63 teachers.