Minister of Agriculture and Fishers, Pearnel Charles Jr, says that well trained youth farmers are “more likely to realise high levels of production and productivity”.

“It is my firm belief that agriculture, rural development and youth are inextricably linked and connected,” he said, adding that trained youth can therefore “contribute greater and in a positive way to further economic development of our country.”

Charles Jr was speaking at the close out ceremony for the Advance Program which sought to improve youth employability in new and emerging sectors for young people primarily from low socio-economic backgrounds.

The Advance Program is a five-year regional technical education strengthening project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Family Health International (FHI360). The project was executed in Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

Locally, the initiative worked with the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) to strengthen degree programs in Agro-processing and Business Management, as well as Health and Wellness Tourism; the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) in Entertainment and Events Management as well as Digital Media; and the University of Technology (UTech) in Fashion Styling and Image Consulting as well as Design and Technology.

CCCJ member institutions that benefited include College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Knox Community College, Excelsior Community College (ECC), Portmore Community College (PCC), Knockalva Polytechnic College, and Montego Bay Community College.

In praising the work of the Advance Program, Charles Jr said: “This programme is directly in synch with the Ministry’s work, especially the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ initiative which places a special emphasis on our youth who are integral to the transformation of our agricultural sector and our economy as a whole.”

On the part of agro-processing and business management, Charles Jr said: “it is a collective goal to see more young people identify with agriculture as a career of choice. We know that our youth can successfully participate in the sector where they can access information and we want them to see education as critical.”

He mentioned that the Ministry’s mandate is to make sure that youth have access to land. “So, as they are educated and trained, we want to give them access to land so that they can start their farming and agro-business ventures. With that in mind, the government has a policy that ensures that at least 20 per cent of government owned land is offered to youth aged between 18 – 35 for agri-business related profits,” he said.

He was referring to an initiative started in 2021, by the Ministry, to provide farming lands to young Jamaicans as part of efforts to encourage them to engage in farming, and also to put unused lands into food production. It also sought to get more young Jamaicans to view the agricultural sector as viable for career options.

Charles Jr shared that under the policy, 105 hectares of land have been made available to vulnerable groups which include “youth and the needy”.

He also mentioned the Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme (RYEEP) initiative which aims to “foster the development of rural youth working in agriculture and providing them with resources and expertise” while acknowledging concerns faced by youth in farming.

“Even as we encourage more young people to get engaged in agricultural pursuits, we are aware of the practical concerns. We are aware of the challenges they face in accessing capital, and this has been an inhibiting factor. [It is] a barrier in terms of attracting participation of more young people in the sector. So, we are taking it more seriously, and as a government, we are discussing creative ways of developing product offerings to help our youth to access financing. One way in which we have been seeking to address this challenge is through our youth arm, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs [and the RYEEP initiative]” he said.

RYEEP is an entrepreneurial training programme organised by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs in partnership with the HEART Trust/NTSA. It was designed to support youth participants through training in the areas of life skills, business development and management as well as best practices in agriculture.

Read about the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart‘ initiative at the link below:

Charles Jr expands reach of Grow Smart Eat Smart in Cayman Islands

Ministry of Agriculture to implement strategies under ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign

Agriculture Ministry to launch new ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign

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