Expanded School Garden Programme Launched at Newell High

Newell High School in St. Elizabeth will benefit from several agricultural projects, which will enable the institution to feed its population while introducing students to farming at an early age.

The projects, which include vegetable and fruit tree cultivation, poultry farming, dairy production and hydroponics, are part of the expanded School Garden Programme being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

The programme was kick-started at the school in Watchwell on Thursday (October 19) during a World Food Day ceremony and exposition.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said the Ministry will be working closely with primary and high schools targeting various vital aspects of agricultural production.

The intention is for the programme to revolutionise Jamaica’s approach to food security.

“We need our schools to be able to feed themselves. It is very important in food security that our schools have an active school garden and, importantly, that our children, at the earliest possible time, are introduced to practical elements in agriculture,” he said.

Minister Green said Newell High School will be provided with the necessary resources, including over 20 fruit trees to initiate orchard crop production.

The trees were planted on the grounds of the institution following the ceremony.

Additionally, the school will receive 200 vegetable seedlings comprising lettuce, sweet pepper, cabbage and pak choi for a containerised gardening project, and the Jamaica Dairy Development Board will provide support for a goat milk production programme.

This goat milk venture will involve the establishment of a goat house and the provision of 12 hybrid animals to facilitate milk production.

“We want to see more of our children consuming milk and in order to expand the consumption, we have to put programmes in the schools to drive milk production,” Minister Green said.

Rabbit farming will also be introduced at Newell High as part of a strategic move to bolster meat production, while diversifying protein sources.

“We are providing Newell High with their first rabbit house. We are going to be driving the production of rabbit meat across the island [which is] an excellent and low-cost protein,” Minister Green said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with JIS News, Principal of the institution, Audrey Ellington, expressed gratitude that Newell High was selected as the starting ground for the Expanded School Garden Programme.

She said the initiative will significantly enhance the existing agricultural activities at the institution and will have a far-reaching impact on the students and the wider community.

“It is just an expansion of what we have been doing and we are very thankful for it. We are seated right in the farming communities and a number of our children do agriculture at home. So this will only benefit them more and also their families,” she said.

World Food Day was observed under the theme: ‘Water is Life, Water is Food: Leave No One Behind’.