Junior Achievement Dominica, an arm of Grow Project, has reached another milestone with its backyard farming and school gardening for school pupils. The gardening and farming project is aimed at encouraging students to try their hands at small-scale farming, and for parents to invest in agriculture.
The programme is being executed by Grow Project in collaboration with the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security, and Dominica 4-H Clubs. Several schools are involved in the project and some of these include –
- St. John’s Primary School
- Grandbay Primary School
- Grandfond Primary School
- Pioneer Preparatory School
- Massacre Primary School
- Achievement Learning Center
- Newtown Primary School
- North-East Comprehensive Secondary School
- Berean Christian Academy
- Savanne Paille Primary School
- Salybia Primary School
The essence of the programme is to have parents investing in agriculture and students engaging in school gardening and backyard farming among other related activities. The Junior Achievement Dominica initiative seeks to achieve this by teaching young ones the necessary skills for planting and maintaining gardens and green spaces.
Grow Project ultimately desires that the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training, and National Excellence will incorporate the programme into the school agricultural curriculum in all primary schools across the island.
The organizers also plan to utilize social media campaigns to build awareness and get youths involved in the project. With online campaigns, schools can get involved faster and parents can also participate to engage their wards in vegetable gardens and community farming.
“The idea is that young people can capture the value of agricultural investments available to them in Dominica,” Grow Project explained. “If they understand the message of value and can translate the hard work of farming to financial rewards, their perception of agriculture as a career can be amplified.”
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