Youth trained for Farm Machinery operation

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Parent Category: Aug 2011

Category: Week ending Aug 20th, 2011

Published on Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:25

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The Ministry of Youth Empowerment and the Chinese Agricultural Mission are partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in promoting the involvement of youth in the agri-sector. Ten young men under the Grenada Youth Apprenticeship Project are being trained to operate small farm machinery.

Chief Extension Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Randolph Shears said that upon completing their training, these young men will be stationed at the various agricultural districts to provide farm machinery services to farmers. According to Shears, the emphasis will be on small farmers since most farmers in this category who request tractor service operate in areas where it is impossible to deploy the large tractors.

Additionally, some farmers complain of the big tractors creating compaction in their soil. The small tractors will help to alleviate this problem. Shears believes that as Grenada tries to take its agriculture and agro-business sectors forward, adequate land preparation is becoming more of an important factor.

He said that with the use of machinery the ministry hopes to see more efficiency and increase and consistency in production of food crops along with reduced production cost. Coordinator of the Grenada Youth Apprenticeship Project, Devon George sees the training as extremely important since it engages young people in learning a vital skill thus giving them a sense of importance and achievement.

He emphasized that the skill being taught is very important for Grenada’s farming community. Course participant Ryan Douglas agrees, noting that although this is his first direct exposure to the agricultural sector he looks forward to helping the farmers and doing something vital for the development of the country.

The training is being conducted by experts attached to the Chinese Agricultural Mission while the machines being used were also donated by the Peoples Republic of China. The mission chief said he is happy with the speed at which the trainees are mastering the techniques of servicing and operating the machines. 

He pledged that his mission, through the government and people of the People’s Republic of China will continue to do all it can to support the development of Grenada’s agriculture. Already the Ministry of Agriculture has distributed several small cultivators to farmers’ cooperatives, school groups and 4-H clubs around the country.

Training is said to be ongoing for persons operating the equipment.

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