Agricultural Industry To Benefit From Activities By Jamaica 4-H Clubs Youth Ambassadors

The agricultural industry should benefit from activities by 2022 Jamaica 4-H Clubs Youth Ambassadors, in the areas of animal services and pesticide eradication.

Female Ambassador and student at the Manning’s School, Buena Walters, says she will be entering college soon to pursue veterinary medicine.

Meanwhile, Male Ambassador, Dishon Francis, shares that he has created an insect repellant and compost product from cassava, and is pushing them through the 4-H Clubs, while also seeking certification from the Scientific Research Council (SRC), and the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ).

As an entrepreneur in animal husbandry and a child of small farmers, Miss Walters says she has witnessed, first-hand, losses every year by persons in the business, due to inadequate care in the livestock industry.

“When I become the world’s best female veterinarian, I will be able to offer free services to poor farmers who have major losses throughout the years, because I lost goats and other animals, and I cried, because my school fees are paid from animal husbandry and other agricultural activities,” she tells JIS News, after copping the crown at the Club’s recent National Achievement Exposition, held at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon.

She says that giving back will be a major focus of her professional life, as more animals can survive if they are given proper care, and “this is what I do for a living”.

On being crowned Female Youth Ambassador, she says it came from a journey in volunteering at schools and her community, where she visited the institutions and imparted agricultural knowledge that she learned from the Clubs to young students and also helping with advanced examinations preparation at her high school.

Among the prizes for both Ambassadors is $1 million each.

Miss Walters says the money is “enormous” for her.

“This is a very huge achievement. As a 19-year-old aspiring veterinarian, going off to college without any means of financial sources, this is a huge breakthrough, because at least some of the pressure is relieved from me, my parents, and my school community,” she tells JIS News.

She says with the cash prize, and funds from her entrepreneurial pursuits, two years of her college training will be less “nerve-racking”.

Miss Walters notes that the many projects she undertook to become the Ambassador were “very tiring”, but they have put her veterinary pursuit on a steady path.

She is encouraging young persons to be part of as many voluntary groups as possible, as this can broaden their horizon, adding that they should also be passionate about causes and do things that they enjoy.

For his part, Mr. Francis tells JIS News that he got the idea for his creations while attending the 2019 SRC Research Day, and looking at things that can be done with the bitter cassava, with further research at his then Nain High School in St. Elizabeth.

Now a student at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), he uses much of his time to promote careers in agriculture and related scholarships for needy students.

“I put in the work, and hard work always pays off. Going forward, I will always work with the Jamaica 4-H Clubs,” he says, adding that his project, which won the Ambassador’s crown, had to do with securing the agricultural industry, and mitigating against climate change.

Executive Director of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Dr. Ronald Blake, says a “very deliberate” campaign was done to identify the Ambassadors, and they should stay focused and be successful in their tertiary training.

“You are going to make the best of your vocation in farming, and it is important to get tertiary training. These are bright youngsters, and exceptional students, and they are going to achieve a whole lot,” Dr. Blake reasons.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Collin Virgo, says they have been preparing young people consistently and “building good citizens for Jamaica”.

The Jamaica 4-H Clubs is the leading youth training organisation with more than 105,000 members across Jamaica. It provides various training opportunities to young persons between the ages of five and 35 years. Clubs are found in schools, churches, communities, and special youth facilities.

Its mission is to mobilise, educate and train young people in agricultural, homemaking, leadership and social skills, which will prepare them for or influence them into careers in agriculture and agro-related occupations. The Movement seeks to provide a cadre of trained young leaders, capable of contributing to national development.

The organisation is playing its part in putting young farmers on lands, by contacting those who are interested in agriculture and lobbying the Government for land for young farmers. Interested persons should contact the nearest 4-H Clubs Parish Office for further details.

It has a Tractor Operation and Maintenance programme which provides training for clubbites between 18 and 25 years of age. The programme has received certification from the National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET) and is conducted at three-month intervals at the Denbigh 4-H Training Centre in Clarendon.

The programme has also benefited from a grant of US$51,254.00 from the Japanese Government to procure additional equipment necessary for its sustainability.