SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — First established for agricultural training on more than 200 acres of prime farm land in 1979, the school at remote Elim, about five miles north-east of here, has always had a great deal going for it.

Now, the Sydney Pagon STEM Academy seems poised to become a high school of choice for rural Jamaica children.

Observers and school leaders say the “game changer” was a gift in March from the J Wray & Nephew Foundation of a $47-million, 2,200-square-foot, multi-functional agro-processing plant.

Located on the school’s property across the road from the Sydney Pagon STEM Academy campus, the agro processing plant will serve not just school needs but the wider farming community. It forms part of the long-standing goal of advancing Jamaican agriculture beyond primary production to an efficient, comprehensive value-added mode.

When up and running, the plant is expected to “dry, mill, package and store, using state-of-the-art equipment”.

The State’s information agency, Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reported at the launch that “farmers will be able to take crops and turn them into chips and other products via baking and frying, as well as transitioning some crops — such as breadfruit, sweet potato and more — into powders and flour”.

Sydney Pagon’s Principal Milbert George Miller told the Jamaica Observer recently that “anything that can go to powder, we can do it”.

The agro-processing facility will also be able to mass-produce coconut oil, the JIS said.

For Miller, a crucial offshoot of the gift from the J Wray & Nephew Foundation will be the involvement of students in food processing, affording the opportunity for Level 3 certification at the NCTVET level and opening the door wider for employment or further education.

“It will provide experiential learning and training …,” said an upbeat Miller.

“As we speak, a programme [is being built] — well-structured and organised — so students, once they get here, pursue a course until grade 12 and 13. By the time they leave here at grade 13, [those with an interest in that course of study] should have at least a Level 3 or an associate in agro-processing. This we think will help them to pursue a suitable path on their own in agro-processing, and Jamaica will be better off,” opined an optimistic Miller.

He expects the plant to begin processing operations “soon”, though exact timelines have not yet been established.

“There are some minor works that contractors have to tie up,” Miller explained.

The J Wray & Nephew Foundation, the charity arm of rum company J Wray & Nephew, has committed to employing a manager for a year to get the processing facility started.

Miller said discussions have begun with farmers in St Elizabeth and outside, and a database is being established of those with an interest in processing their products.

“We are trying our best to meet the needs of our farmers. So if you are a cassava person, for example, wanting to process for export, we are here. If you want to label, we can do that as well. Whichever modality you prefer, we are ready to support that modality,” he said.

“Our aim is to help our farmers transition; and once they can do crops and get them processed, get a good price, the economic standing of the community will improve,” Miller added.

Food processing is not new at Sydney Pagon. As part of its STEM education curricula and agricultural training, products such as cassava, breadfruit, and sweet potato have been dried and processed for years with the help of mechanical dehydration.

With greatly expanded capacity provided by the agro-processing plant, Miller dreams of adding other products including turmeric and ginger, “anything that can go to powder”.

And while agriculture has always been a strong focus, wide-ranging innovation is practised as an essential ingredient of integrated STEM education.

Vice-Principal Stevie Williams pointed to the school’s use of crushed styrofoam to make a range of products, including flower pots. “It’s lighter but just as strong [as other materials],” he said.

For Miller, projects which involve recycling of material such as styrofoam, which “clog gullies and rivers and so forth”, are essential to environmental education, facilitating “critical thinking” so that “our students can look at real-world problems and come up with solutions” in line with integrated STEM education.

When it was first established 43 years ago, the school was seen as a cornerstone in the then Michael Manley-led, People’s National Party Government’s campaign to get Jamaicans to feed themselves.

Subsequently named in honour of the long-serving Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North Eastern, Sydney Pagon, the agricultural training school grew as a boarding institution for students at the post-grade nine level.

There was a move away from boarding in 2014 when grade seven students were admitted. The school was rebranded then and reorganised to provide project-based learning which is embedded in the STEM curriculum. Educators say the STEM approach to education not only helps students to rapidly build integrated knowledge in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and other areas of study, but also build self-confidence.

Given the continued and enhanced emphasis on agriculture and now agro-processing, Miller is dreaming of a rekindling of boarding as a mainstream activity going forward.

He noted that while the boarding facilities have become “somewhat run down” over time, there has been a conscious effort at “maintenance”. He believes rehabilitation will not be prohibitively expensive.

Miller said the buoyant mood now prevailing at his school owes much to the support of J Wray & Nephew. The rum company, a subsidiary of the Italian-based Campari Group, has been on a push to help residents of northern St Elizabeth move away from reliance on sugar, following the closure of its Appleton sugar factory at Siloah in 2020.

Speaking at the formal handover of the agro-processing plant in March, Jean-Philippe Beyer, chairman of the J Wray & Nephew Foundation, said his organisation is deeply committed to northern St Elizabeth communities.