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Government Provides $12.2 Million in Grant Funding to CASE

By: , January 31, 2015

The Key Point:

The Government has provided $12.2 million in grant funding to the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) to renovate its Dairy Unit.
Government Provides $12.2 Million in Grant Funding to CASE
Photo: JIS
Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier (right), signs an agreement to provide grant funding of $12.2 million to the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) to renovate its Dairy Unit. Waiting to afix his signature to the document, is Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites (second right). Also pictured at the head table (from left) are State Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Luther Buchanan and CASE Board Chairman, Ambassador Derrick Heaven. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at the school's Passley Gardens location in Portland on Friday (Jan. 30).

The Facts

  • Making the announcement, Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, said this intervention is in keeping with the administration's thrust to bolster the Ministry's dairy development programme.
  • An agreement for financial support was signed between the college and the Ministries of Agriculture and Education, during a ceremony at the school's Passley Gardens location in Portland on Friday (Jan. 30)

The Full Story

The Government has provided $12.2 million in grant funding to the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) to renovate its Dairy Unit.

Making the announcement, Minister of Agriculture, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, said this intervention is in keeping with the administration’s thrust to bolster the Ministry’s dairy development programme.

“Our dairy farmers are ageing and it is critical that we involve our young people in the rejuvenation and survival of the sector. We are committed to working with CASE and the other tertiary institutions to revamp and upgrade their dairy programme with equipment, technical support and stock through the Jamaica Dairy Development Board,” he said.

An agreement for financial support was signed between the college and the Ministries of Agriculture and Education, during a ceremony at the school’s Passley Gardens location in Portland on Friday (Jan. 30)

The money which is being provided by the Agriculture Ministry through the Jamaica Dairy Industry Board, will be used to renovate the existing building and structures; repair the existing cooling system; acquire fodder chopping equipment; install machine milking system; resusitate and create new pastures; and acquire a pasteuriser and supporting equipment.

“We have also included a pasteuriser and supporting equipment as part of our assistance package. This will ensure that the milk produced at CASE will be safe for use in the school feeding programme. Several basic and infant schools in this parish stand to benefit from having milk from CASE in their porridge under the breakfast programme,” the Minister said.

The Government’s support also includes a donation of 25 Jamaica Hope heifers procured from Serge Island Farms Limited. In addition, two scholarships valued at $600,000 annually will be awarded to students of animal science and/or general agriculture.

The Minister informed that a book grant will also be provided to the library to ensure that the college is up to date on the latest publications in agriculture, animal science and dairy science.

“It is also important that in addition to the equipment, and the animals and the physical infrastructure, we are also aiming to significantly improve the capacity of both our lecturers to teach and our students to learn the management of dairy farms so that students can become managers of such enterprises,” he said.

In his remarks, Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, said through this initiative, the Government is fulfilling its duty to ensure that the right tools are provided to learning institutions that will redound to the success of students.

The Minister expressed the hope that shortly, CASE will no longer need to rely on the money provided by the Government for its upkeep, but that through these capacity building interventions, become a profitable institution, producing enough food to feed itself and surrounding communities.

The signing ceremony coincided with the annual College Founders’ Day activity, which marks 105 years of agriculture education to the nation. The two-day event was held under the theme: “Celebrating Our Legacy Creating Visions of Excellence”.

 

Last Updated: January 31, 2015

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