Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, said that his ministry is looking to expand the school garden programme in an effort to introduce the concept of farming at an earlier stage.

The garden programmes in schools, which will be initiated through the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, also coincide with the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign.

The ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign aims to boost agricultural production while increasing the supply of nutritious and affordable foods to improve the population’s health.

Charles Jr stated that the campaign will ensure that Jamaica is a healthy and constructive nation, a population that will be able to be more productive in every way.

As such, one of the key initiatives under the campaign is boosting agriculture in primary and secondary schools, through the supply of vegetable gardening packages while changing students’ mindset about agriculture.

“We want to ensure that our children have a mindset towards farming, which allows them to appreciate the significance of controlling what they eat by knowing how to cultivate the food,” he said.

“We hope to be able to extend that programme by using some of this healthy, nutritious [food to provide] a range of options for the school feeding programme,” he added.

He also said that one way in which the ministry is ensuring that the Jamaican population are consuming healthier food is by collaborating with the Ministry of Health to guarantee the production of healthier crops in the country.

“What we eat really impacts how we can execute our work. Given the alerts and concerns of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, we are collaborating with them and other stakeholders to make sure that the crops we produce are healthier and more nutritious for our nation,” he said.

Charles Jr noted that the campaign will also serve to reduce the non-communicable disease (NCD) risks to the population.