Frome Technical High School Gets Agricultural Boost

For students at Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland, a donation of 400 chicks and 45 bags of feed may seem simple.
However, they are being encouraged to view it as an opportunity to learn, produce and explore a future in agriculture.

The chicks and feed were recently handed over to the school by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs as part of efforts to support agricultural activities and encourage young people to pursue opportunities in the sector.

For Grade 11 student, Alecia Smith, who has been a 4-H member for more than five years, the donation is particularly meaningful, as it provides students with an opportunity to see the results of their work while contributing to the school’s food supply.

“With this donation, I feel very pleased to say that the 4-H Foundation has helped Frome Technical a lot, in giving us chickens and feed. It will improve our food supplies and ensure that we are properly fed when we reap, after the chickens have grown,” Ms. Smith explains.

The student’s journey with 4-H began in primary school, initially because she was required to join a club. However, what started as an obligation gradually evolved into an experience she came to value.

Through her active participation in 4-H, the teen developed new skills and gained valuable life lessons that extended beyond the classroom.

“I have grown a lot and learned many things… and found out that 4-H is a very good and self-improvement club,” Ms. Smith states.

It is the kind of experience the Jamaica 4-H Clubs wants more young people to have, according to Chairman of the organisation’s Board of Directors, Collin Virgo.

For him, the chicks represent far more than something to be raised and eventually sold or consumed.

Mr. Virgo describes them as a starter kit and an opportunity for the school to build on what it has received and develop something larger and more sustainable.

“So you’re going to expand on this and make it grow in the same way that you would if you were running your own business,” he says.

The Chairman points to a 2016 memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Education and Jamaica 4-H Clubs that supported the establishment of school gardens and 4-H clubs in government schools across the island.

The idea was not only to expose students to farming, but also to help supplement school-feeding programmes, create income-generating opportunities and encourage healthier eating habits.

Additionally, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs wants students to look beyond the traditional perception of agriculture as solely hard physical labour in the fields.

For Mr. Virgo, modern agriculture is increasingly driven by technology, business and innovation, with young farmers using digital tools to monitor crops, assess soil conditions, track growth, and manage production.

“Agriculture is food… food is a business… there is real money in agriculture,” he declares.

Principal of Frome Technical, Dorrset Taylor, says the institution is determined to maximise the opportunity presented by the donation.

The school already has plans to expand student participation in its 4-H activities, which are held during lunch periods and in the afternoons.

For Ms. Taylor, the goal is for students to become more productive and to recognise the opportunities available to them through agriculture.

“They should join the 4-H club because they will learn a lot, and it teaches you many things… it gives you skills, and it helps you in the long run,” she points out.

Frome Technical already has a food-processing laboratory with nearly $1 million in equipment, although it has not yet been commissioned.

The chicks and feed will help the school move closer to fully utilising the facility while strengthening efforts to improve student nutrition.

“We are more than grateful, because it could have gone to another school. God is good to us… and this is how we have that spiritual part of us in our mission. I really thank the Minister [of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green], and also the [Jamaica] 4-H [Clubs] for stepping in,” Ms. Taylor stated.