FOLLOWING its launch earlier this year, the National School Garden Project has aimed to not only strengthen student awareness around farming practices but also enhance their practical experience in agriculture.

The project, being piloted under the theme ‘Eat what you grow, from the farm to the table’, comes as part of the Ministry of Education and Youth’s effort to push the importance of agriculture as it increases students’ and parents’ engagement in creating and maintaining their own school gardens.

The $10-million project, which took off in February of this year currently, engages various gardening initiatives including hydroponics, vegetable and container gardening, herb gardening, greenhouse, poultry production, and a layer unit.

The latest iteration, spearheaded by permanent secretary in the education ministry Dr Kasan Troupe, seeks to also explore additional ways in which the country can address the growing rate of obesity among the student population as it also lends support to national efforts around food security.

“The aim is to encourage schools to create and maintain sustainable school gardens using diverse techniques as well as garnering community engagement and support in the promulgation of our National School Nutrition Policy and Standards (now a Green Paper). Through the development of school gardens students will learn how to use various methods to plant and grow their own produce, thus supporting our theme, ‘From the farm to the table’. There are now 23 schools across the seven regions that are participating in this project, including one special education institution in phase one of this initiative,” Troupe said in sharing a summary of the project with the Jamaica Observer.

The project, which is not new, comes as a continuation of past school garden initiatives which have their historical antecedents dating as far back as 2008 when the National School Garden Programme emerged in more than 300 schools locally. As was the case then, and still is now, the programme was developed to, among other things, encourage environmental awareness in sustainable agricultural practices as it also focuses on getting young people involved in the food production process while allowing them to recognise the entrepreneurial potential of agriculture as a business.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, who in recent times has also thrown his full support behind the move, has said that the ministry, in partnership with the national 4-H Clubs, as a next step will be working to develop a sort of agriculture-based curriculum, one which can be introduced to schoolchildren at the earliest level.

“Normally over the years our school gardening programme has been small but, especially at the primary school level, there’s no reason why we can’t do more. We have a great initiative at the Osborne Store Primary and Infant School [in Clarendon], which we have highlighted in our calendar this year, and we are going to model that and take that across the country. So, you’ll be seeing a lot more emphasis on school gardens in our educational programme,” the minister said during a recent tour of three farms in Trelawny, conducted as part of his ministry’s ‘New FACE of Food’ stakeholder meetings.

The school garden project, which currently has wide-ranging impact, has not only helped students to enhance their learning experience but has also assisted them to learn about the protection of the natural environment as they become knowledgeable about sustainable farming practices, the ministry said. Additionally, the partnership with parents on these projects has augured well for inclusion — impacting improved educational performance of the students and the overall ethos of the school.

Truope, in noting her expectation for the project to move into its second phase following the upcoming expiration of its first phase in June, said the other phase remains under review.

“Schools will be considered for selection using a screening process by the regions working along with the Technical Vocational Unit of the ministry,” she stated, noting that while some challenge exist, the rewarding outcomes and impacts of the project continue to far outweigh these.

“The National School Garden Project shows promise of increasing awareness of healthy eating and sustainability. Benefits include enhanced education, healthier habits, community involvement, environmental stewardship, and life skills development. Challenges like funding and maintenance are issues we will always contend with but they are not beyond us given the importance of the initiative and collaborative interest being expressed,” she said.